Without Question
by Iceewhateverthenumbersare
Summary: Sequel to Harlequin Hair Day. Xelia struggles to get her life back to normal as The Riddler decides to make her a player in his new game. Between work dilemmas, keeping a normal life, and letters from The Riddler, Xelia's life seems to be out of control.
1. Without Question

**2ND STORY! WOOO! This one was my favorite to write for sure. **

Xelia Moore was having a terrible week, and it was only Wednesday. Her mother had come into town, she had gotten a flat tire, and worst of all, The Riddler had sent a note to her apartment that Monday. Currently she was sitting outside of a small coffee shop, reading the local paper, just down the street from the hair salon she worked at. Xelia contently sipped on her iced coffee, not too concerned about The Riddler's letter to her. She assumed that she had fallen into, what she called, "typical Gothamite mentality". The whole false illusion that Batman would always be there to fight off rogues, muggers, and door-to-door salespeople; never mind the fact that Batman was just one man and was probably quite busy. She knew it was silly to believe such a thing, but anyone who had been rescued by the Dark Knight fell into the same thinking pattern that she had.

She quietly sighed and set aside the news paper, turning her full attention to her iced coffee.

"Excuse me, miss, but are you done with that newspaper?" Xelia looked up to see a tall man with dark hair and a mustache standing over her table, smiling down at her.

"Oh, sure, here you are." Xelia said as she offered the man the newspaper, smiling broadly back at him.

"Oh, thank you, my dear." Xelia watched as the man took the newspaper and happily strutted away. Xelia just smiled and went back to her coffee, unaware of what had just happened.

Edward Nygma hated wearing disguises. They marred his wonderful features, were itchy, and uncomfortable. The black wig he was currently wearing was obnoxiously hot under the fall sun, and the mustache tickled his nose, but he supposed it was better than being recognized. He smiled his trademark smirk as he walked away from the rainbow haired girl's table. The fact that she was clueless made his pride swell at how much of a master he was at disguises. Just another thing that he excelled at he supposed, not that it surprised him; he excelled in everything.

Edward returned back to his lair, it wasn't too far away from the coffee shop he had just left. It was quite small, but Eddie didn't mind too much, it was only him living there anyways. Casually whistling, Eddie grabbed some scissors and started trimming out letters from Xelia's newspaper for his next riddle for Batman, and some extra letters for his letter to Xelia.

"Italian food, Italian food, I love Italian food." Xelia was seconds away from slamming her best friend's head into the dashboard of her car. She had been singing about Italian food non-stop since Xelia's mom invited them out to eat. They were going to the new Italian food restaurant that had just recently opened by the hair salon she and Naomi worked at.

"Naomi, I swear that I'll throw you out of this car if you don't shut up." Xelia said as she glanced sideways at her now quiet friend, who just smirked back at her.

"Your mom would make you come back and get me." She answered knowingly as she leaned back in the passenger seat, watching the scenery pass by. They pulled into the parking lot, immediately spotting Xelia's mother, and got out of the car. The two girls were warmly greeted by the older woman as they made their way into the cozy restaurant.

"Naomi, have you been eating? You're looking awfully thin." Xelia rolled her eyes as her mother heckled her and her best friend with typical mother-like concerns.

"Yes, I've been eating." Naomi answered as if she were talking to her own mother. She had long been inducted into Xelia's family, and had become used to Xelia's mother's concerns.

"Mother, please, believe it or not Naomi eats more than I do." Xelia said as she lazily twirled the spaghetti on her plate. Kathy, Xelia's mom then turned her attention to her daughter.

"At least she has a boyfriend through; I'm worried that my little girl is going to grow up lonely." Xelia coughed a bit as her noodles got caught in her throat.

"Mother!" Xelia choked out before she took a gulp of her water, "I'm fine. I'm not going to die lonely, or anything stupid like that; I have Naomi and Algy." She said frowning at her mother, while Naomi just snickered quietly.

The rest of the dinner was quite pleasant, and devoid of nagging, thankfully. Xelia and Naomi both thanked Kathy and hugged her good-bye. The ride home was fairly quiet, at least Naomi didn't sing on the way back. Xelia was thankful for that factor.

"I absolutely hate these stairs." Naomi announced as they reached the third story of their apartment complex. Xelia just rolled her eyes as her best friend over dramatically drug herself to their door.

"Seriously, how can you lose three spare keys? One, I can understand, but three? I'm going to start stapling them to you." Xelia complained as she set her purse down on the coffee table. She froze as she caught sight of something green under it, it hadn't been there when they left.

"Uh, hey, we locked the door on the way out of the apartment, right?" Xelia asked as she held the letter up to show her best friend, who's eyes widened as she saw the envelope.

"Er, yeah, we did lock the door." She answered shakily as she watched Xelia tear open the envelope.

"He's good." Xelia off handedly commented, trying to mask her fears, making Naomi's jaw drop in disbelief.

"Xelia, this is serious! He's not good, he's evil. He broke into our apartment, meaning the man knows where we live, our names, and who knows what else." Xelia watched as her friend tugged on her hair, frustrated at the helpless feelings she was experiencing. She turned to Xelia and just studied her for a moment before releasing her brunette locks. "You were among the loons for a while, tell me, what do you think he's planning?" Xelia just raised an eyebrow at her friend.

"The man is a certified insane genius. If I knew what he was planning then I'd be a loony genius too." She stated before reading the note aloud. "'The way you glisten, the way you shine, just calls for you to become mine. I can hardly wait for our big date, it's tomorrow, remember? So don't be late. Soon enough you and I will meet, but this time it won't be such a small feat. Sincerely, The Riddler.' How sweet." She sarcastically commented as she handed the note over to Naomi to read. She looked it over a couple of times, confused as to what it meant.

"Ok, so tomorrow is 'the big date', but in the next sentence he contradicts himself by saying 'someday'. I'm not sure what he means by it, Xe. What do you think?" She asked, returning the letter to her friend.

"I think that the last line is directed to me, but the rest, I think, refers to something else." Xelia gazed out of the apartment window as she thought about the letter. The only thing about it that made slight sense was the last sentence. The last time she saw The Riddler was in The Joker's hide out, but is was hardly a "small feat"; the man had used her to bait the Batman, and then tried to kill them all with a bomb. As for the rest of the "riddle", if one could really call it that, Xelia was completely lost. Something was going to happen tomorrow, as to what, she had no idea. She wasn't even sure if it involved her, but she supposed that soon enough she'll find out.

Does it need improvement? Is it ok?

Let me know if you have any ideas or if there is something you really want to see happen with this story.

Lots of Love!

**I'm not able to edit this ATM so any mistakes are left overs from the first upload.**


	2. Minor turbulence

**Sorry about the lack of uploads, my work is going to a convention and so we've all been stressing and trying to finish last minute things. **

Minor turbulence

Xelia has been on her guard all day; inspecting her car before getting in it, glancing over her shoulder multiple times, and keeping a sharp eye out for anything out of the ordinary. Stella, Xelia's boss and owner of the hair salon, had picked up on Xelia's paranoid behavior the moment she had stepped in the door, as did Xelia's regular customers as well.

"Sweetie," Xelia always had to suppress a laugh at Mrs. Jackson's Southern belle accent, "you look tired, is everythin' alright?" Their eyes met in the large mirror as Xelia just smiled and nodded. She was right though, Xelia's face reflected her emotions; heck, even her hair looked dull today, compared to its normal shine.

"I'm fine Mrs. Jackson, just a little trouble on the home front." Xelia, of course, wasn't going to go into detail. How does one explain her situation anyhow? 'Sorry, Mrs. Jackson, I'm just paranoid on a grand scale. You see, I was kidnapped by Harley Quinn, then got re-kidnapped by The Riddler, all in the same day! I know, crazy, right? Now, he's sending me riddles, and something big is supposed to happen today, but enough about me. How are you?' Yeah, that wouldn't get her thrown in Arkham. "Ok, Mrs. Jackson, you are good to go." Xelia handed the older woman a mirror to inspect the back of her hair, while she removed the black cape from around her.

"Looks great, as always, Sweetie." She handed the mirror back to the young girl, and then headed towards the register. Xelia released a quiet sigh as she proceeded to sweep up the hair that piled up on the floor before she clocked out.

"Xelia", Xelia turned to see Stella standing there, lips pursed as something was wrong. "Could I have a word with you in the office?" She blinked in surprise as the older woman headed towards the back of the building. Xelia followed behind her, wondering what was going on. "Have a seat," Stella said motioning towards the chair opposite of her desk, as she herself sat down behind her desk. "Xelia, I'm going to cut directly to the chase. The salon needs to make some cut backs on expenses, and we're going to have to let you go." Xelia felt her heart stop at her words, she was being fired.

"Stella, I..." Xelia was at a loss of words. She just sat, trying to figure out what she going to do now. Stella frowned as she was obviously feeling guilty about what she was doing, but it had to be done.

"I'm sorry, Xelia, but our salon isn't getting the business we used to get, and I'm going to have to cut back to keep my business from going under." Xelia nodded, she understood, but that didn't stop the situation from sucking.

"It's ok, Stella, I understand." Xelia said hollowly as she went to gather her belongings.

Xelia sighed as she trudged up the apartment stairs, attempting to not cry, or drop any of her things. She had given up on trying to figure out the stupid riddle, and right now, she couldn't have cared less. She tried to shift her stuff into one arm as she tried to find her keys.

"Hello." Xelia let out a shriek as she jumped away from whomever it was. The person let out a laugh as Xelia tried her best to calm her nerves. "Sorry, I didn't mean to sneak up on you. I'm Leon, and you are?" Xelia just raised a brow as he extended his hand, apparently oblivious to all the items in her hands.

"Uh, I'm Xelia, and I would shake your hand, but..." She just shrugged her shoulders a bit, to emphasize her full hands.

"That's ok, here, I'll pretend to shake your hand." Xelia just watched awkwardly as he shook his own hands together before smiling back up at her. "Boy, you've got a strong grip." Xelia nervously chuckled, unsure if this guy had just been released from Arkham or something.

"Heh, yeah. Oh, gosh, I've gotta be going. You know how it is; it was great to meet you Leonardo." Xelia said as she managed to fish her keys out of her purse in record time. He just kept smiling at her as she unlocked her door.

"It's Leon, and I'll see you around." He said as she shut the door. Xelia leaned up against the door, as she let out a deep sigh. She was a loon-magnet apparently. Running a hand through her hair, she drug herself over to the couch, turning on the television before collapsing into the plush cushions. Naomi was out with Dustin tonight, meaning that Xelia had to mope by herself; too bad she didn't have any ice cream. She sighed as she boredly gazed at the television, not really watching it, instead running her hands repeatedly through her hair. Her brow furrowed as there was a knock on the door; Naomi must have forgotten something. Heaving herself off the couch, she attempted to smooth her hair back down from it's distressed state.

"Ok, ok, Nao. Geeze, maybe if you wouldn't lose your key you wouldn't have to-" Xelia stopped short when she saw that there was nobody at the door. She looked both ways down the small open hallway, seeing nobody. She pursed her lips as she looked down, her eyes widening at the sight of yet another green envelope. She sighed deeply as she quickly snatched it up and locked, dead bolted, and chain locked the door to her apartment. Xelia glared down at the green object for a moment, taking notice that it had something inside of it, along with another riddle. She nonchalantly opened it, knowing that it wasn't anything harmful; The Riddler wouldn't just blow someone up, he liked to toy with their minds, rather than just blow them to smithereens. Xelia gasped as she pulled a handful of jewelry out; a beautiful emerald necklace, two giant diamond rings, and an emerald bracelet. Xelia could feel her heart stop for the second time that day, as she placed the jewelry gently onto her coffee table and grabbed the letter that was inside.

"'If you break me I do not stop working. If you touch me I may be snared, if you lose me…Nothing will matter. What am I?' A pain in the butt, that's what you are." Xelia quietly said to the letter before continuing reading aloud. "Time is a key player in our little game, but it's truly a shame that you are to blame; perhaps, if you haven't have cheated, Batman would have been defeated. Yours truly, The Riddler." Xelia looked at the jewelry, that was stolen no doubt, as she hid it in her room for the time being. She would talk to Naomi about it when she got home, as well as break the news to her that she got fired. Her heart sank as she fell onto her bed; If only Batman had a 1-800 number.

Oh, ho ho, a new character :3 He seems to be a bit on the nutball side, eh?

Tell me what you thought of it, por favor :3 Does it need more? Does it need less? Does it need a scooby snack?

Catch you on the flip side!

**LEONNNNNNNN, YOURE A PRECIOUS IDIOT**


	3. Karma

**Oh my god, I didnt realize that all my cover photos are set to Gordon How-Do-You-Do-Fellow-Kids Ramsay until just now. Enjoy. I guess. **

Karma

Xelia had spent most the night sighing and flopping from side to side in her bed; all in all, it wasn't a very fun night for her. She'd managed to get herself out of bed, and get dressed, but that was just about all she could motivate herself to do.

"Morning, sleepy hea- Woah." Naomi stopped mid-sentence when she saw Xelia's depressed expression, "Xe, are you ok? You look like somebody outlawed hair dye." Xelia just sighed as she fell onto the couch, briefly flicking her eyes up to Naomi, who just raised a brow at her friend. "What happened?" Naomi asked softly as she sat down next to Xelia, who sighed once more.

"A lot happened." She answered simply, sinking deeper into the couch before continuing, "Yesterday afternoon I got fired from work." Naomi gasped, obviously surprised at the news. "Then, when I came home, I got a surprise package from our friendly neighborhood sociopath. It wasn't just a letter though, he included-"

"Stolen jewelry." Xelia looked over at her friend with a puzzled expression; how did Naomi know? As if she had read Xelia mind Naomi simply answered, "I saw it on the news this morning. The Riddler had robbed a jewelry store, and also left a riddle for Batman." Xelia pursed her lips for a moment, wondering what the riddle for Batman was, and if The Riddler had left Batman and her the same riddle.

"I guess that was 'the big date' he was referring to in his last riddle, meaning that he was referring to diamonds. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do with the jewelry he left me. I mean, if I go to the police then I'll have to explain everything to them; I doubt that they would believe that The Riddler just left them here, without any reason." She lightly hit the back of her head on the couch back cushion in frustration. "I also have to find a new job." Naomi watched Xelia sulk for a moment before giving her a hug.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you will find something." She said, giving her rainbow haired friend an encouraging smile.

Just about every position in The Gotham Daily had had either already been filled, were out of her league, or did not allow dyed hair. She might as well be upfront about the fact that she had rainbow hair, but if she couldn't find any place that would allow it, she supposed she could wear a wig. The next want ad was for a waitress position, and although it was less to be desired, Xelia figured that a job was a job at this point. The person on the other end of the receiver seemed overjoyed that someone was applying for the job, which Xelia found odd, but didn't question it. She happily jotted down the address of the place and thanked the person once more before hanging up the phone and smiling for the first time that day. She had a job interview that day around 3 o'clock; she had just enough time to pretty herself up.

She made her way to her car, making sure that she left her apartment with plenty of time to spare. Her directions led her to downtown Gotham city.

"563, 565, here we are." Xelia murmured to herself as she looked at the address of a tall building. She looked a bit closer, as she noticed the building looked familiar.

She was quite sure that she had frightened anyone passing by on the sidewalk as she rolled up her car windows and cursed at the top of her lungs. She was currently parked on the curb outside of Gotham's one and only Iceberg Lounge. She also had an interview with the Lounge's head waiter, Todd, in 15 minutes.

"What did I do to deserve all this?" She whined as she rested her head against her steering wheel.

Sorry, again for the shortneeeeeess!

Team Icee is blasting off AGAAAAAAAIN!...*ding*


	4. Silver Lining

I live! Yay! Ok, so I know in real life you apply for a job, wait for a call back, then go to an interview, but since this is fiction and I REALLY didn't want a whole chapter dedicated to Xelia waiting to get a call back and what not, I'm tweaking the way things work :p

**I finally have free time again to upload.AND I EVEN FOUND SOME TIME TO START WRITING AGAIN!**

Silver Lining*

Being employed at The Iceberg Lounge certainly wasn't a walk in the park. Wealthy patrons were intimidating, the police would hold random investigations, and some of Gotham's most wanted criminals would drop in for a visit every now and then. On the upside if the wealthy socialites liked you they would leave a very generous tip, Mr. Cobblepot paid good money, and the atmosphere was very nice.

Todd, the head waiter, was bouncing on the balls of his feet, waiting for Xelia, the girl who had called for the job. The Lounge, despite its upsides, had a difficult time when it came to hiring waitresses; said wealthy patrons would sometimes forget their manners and attempt to get "cozy" with them. Not to mention that the mere idea of an "ex" rogue as a boss wasn't exactly everyone's ideal job description.

Todd smiled as a head of fluorescent hair stood out among the blue and white decor. Be made a bee line for the girl, who looked around at her surroundings with a look of dread and loathing.

"Hello, I'm Todd Fallow, you must be Xelia Moore." He extended is hand towards the girl, who just looked unimpressed.

"Yes, I'm Xelia. I didn't realize that the want ad was for this place." She said, putting emphasis on "this", as she shook the man's hand. He gave a nervous chuckle as he led the girl to one of the front offices.

"I assure you that, despite it's, er, colorful reputation, it's a marvelous place to work." Xelia reluctantly followed him, too lost in her own thoughts to comment. On one hand, it was a very well-paying job. On the other hand, she'd be working for a Gotham rogue, and where there is one, there's more lurking about. She supposed it wouldn't be all bad; she'd be under The Penguin's protection from his fellow rogues, at least. Heck, maybe he can even convince The Riddler to leave her alone. She was certain it wouldn't be that easy, but a girl can dream.

"Here you go." Todd said, snapping Xelia from her thoughts, as he handed her a stack of papers. "Just fill these out." He smiled at her and patiently waited for Xelia to finish the paper work. It was all legal papers, house procedures, and general questionnaire.

Xelia re-read the papers, making sure she filled them all out, before she stretched her back, and handed the stack back to Todd, who started to leaf through them.

"Looks great. When can you start?" Xelia resisted the urge to roll her eyes at his bubbly eagerness.

"I can start whenever you need me to."

"Wonderful." He said smiling at her; he shifted in his seat a bit pursing his lips for a moment. "If you don't mind, I'll need to know your dress and shoe size. Mr. Cobblepot is quite strict on his employee's uniforms; therefore we will provide the uniform, shoes, and accessories." Xelia vaguely wondered what her uniform would look like, as she told Todd her sizes. Todd hastily scribbled them down on a notepad before he stood up, and walked out from behind the desk. Xelia stood up as well, as Todd offered her his hand.

"Welcome to The Iceberg Crew, you can start tomorrow night. I'll have one of the girls show you the ropes." He gave her a schedule of the times she worked and a list of phone numbers for Todd and their fellow workers.

"I'll see you tomorrow night, we'll have a uniform ready for you, so don't worry about what to wear." He led Xelia to the front door as she thanked him once more before walking out of The Lounge.

Xelia felt a smile take over her lips as she walked away from the building, happy that she had gotten the job. She frowned a bit as the wind hit her, the weather was starting to get much cooler in Gotham City. As she battled the wind she accidentally bumped her shoulder into someone.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying attention." Xelia apologized, looking up to see an oddly familiar face. It was the same man that had asked her for her newspaper not too long ago. She wondered what the odds were to bump into the same person twice in a city this large, but then again, she had run into Harley twice by accident, too.

"No need to apologize. Say, haven't I seen you before?" The man put a hand to his chin for a moment studying her for a moment. "Ah yes," His eyes lit up in recognition, "You were the girl at the café, on the other side of town." Xelia wasn't too concerned with the fact that the man recognized her; she did after all have the only rainbow head in Gotham.

"Oh, yes, I suppose it was." She said as she awkwardly stood there, freezing all the while. Xelia blinked in surprise as the man smirked at her, as if he knew her deepest secret.

"Yes, I suppose so." His voice dropped to a low menacing tone, making Xelia inwardly shudder a bit.

"Sorry, I've got to be going." Xelia said as she dismissed herself, still put off by the man's sudden turn in behavior. She briskly made her way back to her car, glancing over her shoulder at the strange man, who started walking the other way. "Why is Gotham the home of weirdos?" She asked herself as she started her car.

Silly Xelia, doesn't she recognize Eddie's oh so handsome features! Lol, jk.

Tell me what you thought, did you like it? hate it? Let me know your thoughts.

For anyone who's concerned that there is a lack of rogues lately, don't worry, they'll make their way back in. I don't want to haphazardly throw them in there; I can't just be like, "POOF! The Joker was in Xelia's apartment, sipping tea and reading the comics section of the news paper".


	5. These Four Walls

I LIVE! 3 OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED, FAVED, AND READ THIS STORY!

I was so surprised that you ALL wanted a romance :D

**Originally Eddie was just going to be a jerk villain who got over Xelia and moved on with bigger better schemes in his life, but then everyone wanted a romantic jerk, so here we are 6 years later lol.**

This is going to be soooo much fun to write!

Without further a do... I present to you, chapter 5!

These four walls

There was little more Harley Quinn hated more than the idiots known as the Arkham Staff. Aside from talking down to her, they treated her as if she was a five year old. All the interns at Arkham were only after the title of ultimate doctor. They wanted to be the one who could reform a rogue, the one to make them sane once more. Harley hated to admit it, but she too was once one of those naïve interns as well, entering the asylum with hopes of curing The Joker.

There were very little people in, and outside for that matter, that remembered that Harley was once a doctor. One person who shared the same humility was former doctor Jonathan Crane; he had once been, and to some still is, a great doctor. He was still a very smart man, but he just used his knowledge of one's psyche against them, rather than to help them. Harley and he would occasionally pick each other's minds about psychology, mainly when there was nobody else they preferred to talk to around.

Currently, Harley was sitting in her cell, as she glared at the night watch guard. Joey was his name, and he was just as brainless as the rest of them; It was a mystery to Harley how all these guards were even qualified to apply at Arkham, let alone actually get the job.

"Lights out, Quinn." Harley just rolled her eyes and lay down, not wanting to get sent to solitary confinement. Another thing about Arkham guards was their tendencies to overreact about the simplest thing; Harley just chalked it up to them reasserting their continuous power struggle to always be in control at the asylum. She snorted as the guard passed, announcing "lights out" to the rest of the inmates as he passed the rest of the plexi-glass encased rogues.

"Hey, Harls, Jervis says Wonderland is calling to him." Harley smiled as Poison Ivy's metaphor slipped through the thin Arkham walls and into her cell. Ivy, or Red as Harley called her, always looked out for Harley; Telling her when the next escape attempts were going to be, shielding her from some of the more harsh guards, and telling her the latest news on Harley's "puddin'", since Harley didn't really watch the news. She always found it boring and confusing at times, especially when they spent an hour discussing the stock market.

"What's tha plan, Red?" Harley quietly whispered into the wall, excited about getting to see The Joker and be out in the fresh air. She could hear Ivy quietly talking to Jervis Tetch, or The Mad Hatter, who resided on the other side of Poison Ivy's cell. Harley liked Jervis; he was a very mild mannered gentleman who, in Harley's view, wasn't crazy, but rather infatuated with the idea of Wonderland. It was almost like a child, who would make up his own "world" to rid his mind of the world around him.

"Jervis made some of his mind-control cards. He's going to pretend to be sick, and when the guards come in, he'll slip one of his cards on him." Ivy briefly explained, not that Harley needed any further explanations. The plan was quite simple; The guard's key card would get them through the doors to the storage area, where they would grab up their costumes and anything else that Arkham had confiscated from them, and they'd make their escape from there. Harley had been through many Arkham escapes, but she couldn't fight the butterflies that would flutter in her stomach seconds before they exited the main asylum gates.

Harley could over hear Jervis' false moans of pain, silently praying that the guard would not catch on to their plans.

"Oh, the pain, the agony. Please, Bill," Harley rolled her eyes at Jervis' nick-name for Joey, who was not fond of Bill the Lizard as a nick name. "I believe that I need to go to the infirmary. Perhaps I drank the bottle that said 'Do Not Drink Me'." She could hear Ivy snort at Jervis' theatrics as the cell door was unlocked.

"For the last time, Tetch, my name is Joey, not Bi-." The asylum hall got eerily quiet after that, signaling that Jervis had gotten the card on the brim of the man's hat, rendering him under the control of The Mad Hatter's make shift mind-control head band. Ivy's cell, then Harley's cell, was unlocked by the zombie-like guard as Jervis rambled about how 'Wonderland had missed him'. The halls at Arkham were no stranger to any of them, they knew the quickest routes, the most un-guarded areas, and where exactly Arkham filed their confiscated personal items. Grabbing their costumes and miscellaneous weapons of choice, the three knocked the guard out and exited the building without any problems. It would be at least a few hours before anyone noticed that the rogues were missing; plenty of time for them to go into hiding for a couple of days.

Ivy and Harley high-fived as the trio drove down the street. They had stolen the fastest car they could find in the asylum parking lot, no doubt belonging to one of the night-crew of Arkham.

"We did it, Red!" Harley squealed excitedly as Ivy hastily drove the car towards The Narrows, or the slums of Gotham City. Ivy smiled at her blonde friend, who propped her mismatched shoed feet upon the dash of the car.

"It's about time; my poor babies are probably in terrible shape, but at least they will be alive, thanks to the sprinkler's timer." Ivy learned long ago, that a self-timed sprinkler was a must for her plants, since she was incarcerated for long periods of time.

"I can't wait ta' see my Puddin' again." Harley sighed happily, a dreamy look over taking her face. Ivy just gave her a disgusted face, but decided to not comment. "Also, I can't wait ta get my hair done again." She said as she flipped the passenger visor down, looking in the mirror and sticking out her tongue at her reflection. "My roots'a so long that they need their own zip code!" She flipped the visor back up, and crossed her arms.

"Miss Harleen, if I may be so bold, I think you look lovely." Jervis spoke up from the back seat. Harley smiled at the older man; he never had a bad thing to say to her, she supposed it was because she was blonde like Alice from "Alice in Wonderland".

"Thanks, Jervy, you're a big sweetie." Harley said, making the pale blonde man blush.

Xelia scrambled to reach the telephone as she was half-across the living room, managing to trip on one of her coffee table legs in the process.

"Hello?" Xelia spoke, a bit winded from her mad dash/ collision.

"Er, yeah, is this Xelia?" It was a male voice that, as far as she knew, she wasn't familiar with.

"Yes, this is she." She spoke uneasily.

"Oh, hey, it's Leon, you know from down the hall." Xelia felt her face drop at the name. It was the creepy guy from down the hall, that's just great. Because Xelia's life wasn't complicated enough, now she had another stalker to add to the mix. "I was wondering if you're free tonight, maybe we could go out to eat, or go see a movie, or just hang out, or anything?"

"Oh, jeeze, I'm sorry," Xelia said as she adopted a false sympathetic voice, "I've got to work tonight, maybe another time." She bit her tongue as those words left her mouth. Why did she say another time? Now he'll pester her even more.

"That's ok, I'll just hang out by myself tonight; No worries." Xelia could hear his optimism seeping through the phone as she bid him good bye. She had her first day of work in a couple of hours, which excited her and terrified her at the same time. The anxiety of The Riddler stalking abroad was starting to wear her down. What if he showed up at The Iceberg Lounge? What if he showed up at her apartment? What if Leon was one of his henchmen, attempting to lure her into a trap? Questions filled her mind as she attempted to fix her hair into a decent style, not wanting to show up at work with "hippie hair" as Naomi called it. Not that she could do much to it, it was about an inch passed her ears; too short to pin up, and too long to leave un-styled. She quickly hair sprayed her hair down, and swept her bangs out of her face, still wondering what the night would hold for her.

"Did The Riddler even associate with The Penguin?" Xelia quietly asked aloud as she threw on a nice shirt and pair of slacks. "What if he shows up? Surely The Penguin wouldn't allow anyone to cause a scene in front of his 'high-society' guests. I could just ignore him, maybe. On the downside, I suppose he would be a customer… I guess I could just ask Todd if another waiter or waitress could handle him. Speaking of waitresses, I wonder what the uniform will be like." Xelia rambled to herself as she sat on the edge of her bed.

If Xelia knew what the night before her held, there's a good chance she would have called in sick.

I REALLY FREAKING HOPE THAT I WROTE HARLEY RIGHT! You have no idea how much it terrifies me to write (dun dun dun) out of character. I believe that Harley is smart, and still retains her Doctor's knowledge, but prefers not to show it because it clashes with her "Harley Quinn" personality. Yes, I believe that Harley has a rarely used "on/ off switch" for her happy-go-lucky "Harley", as opposed to "Harleen" personality.

Also, SURPRISE! It's Jervis! I actually never planned on having him in this chapter or anyhting, but there he is... Surprise. Lol.

The Riddler WILL be coming back (duh) but he won't be the only one to make a come back.

**Directors commentary: I once had a reason for Leon having Xelia's number, but I can't remember what it was. Please forgive this ye olde plothole, and just assume Leon is a creep. lol**

MUCH LOVE!333*


	6. Women

Women

"Th- That Bandersnatch! How dare he accuse me of-"

"Shut up, Jervis." Ivy glared at her make-shift house guest as she went back to watching the news. The news anchor was currently providing a small back story for the three escapees, apparently getting Jervis' story wrong. The pale blonde headed man insisted that he was merely trying to better Alice's life, as opposed to kidnapping her and trying to brain-wash her into a believing a false reality. He took no offence to Ivy telling him to shut up, as he was used to the woman's bladed tongue; just about everyone in Arkham was. The trio of villains currently resided in Poison Ivy's small green house tucked away on the edge of Gotham's city limits.

"Dinna 's ready!" Harley called from the kitchen, her ever-present smile on her face. She had made a medley of foods, just to have something for everyone, and also had everyone's respected drink on the table as well; tea for Jervis, fruit juice for Pamela and chocolate milk for herself. It was a comfort for them, eating together, as they had done in Arkham; a way for them to keep regularity in their lives.

The tree sat around the table, talking of pleasantries, just as any normal group of friends or acquaintances would.

"So, Harls, the Gotham Museum is going to have a new rare diamond on display. Are you up for a little fun?" Pamela asked a playful smile tugging on her cherry lips. Harley finished sipping her milk before shaking her head.

"Sorry, Red, no can do." Harley simply answered, wincing a bit as she saw a small flash of anger cross her plant-loving friend's face. "I'm goin' ta get my hair taken care of first, an' then I've gotta find Mr. J. I'm sure that he's lost without me, ya know how he gets." She nervously chuckled as she mentally recalled the last time she was in Arkham, The Joker was furious with her. Upset that she had gotten caught, and had simply taken too long to break out. Harley frowned as she was brought back to reality by Ivy's ranting about The Joker; it was the same thing every time.

"Aw, Red, please, I've heard it a million times." Harley gently pleaded with her friend as she grabbed her plate from the table. Pamela stopped her rant as she just looked disapprovingly at her friend, who started rummaging in her purse for something. "I know it's in here somewhere." Harley softly said to herself as she began emptying the contents of her purse onto the table. Jervis eyed the 3 different guns Harley had pulled from said purse, and all the other miscellaneous contents; such as make-up, a small photo of The Joker covered in lip stick kisses, stickers, a large wad of cash, and some other small nick-knacks.

"Women." Jervis said softly as he shook his head at Harley's seemingly no-bottomed purse.

"Ah!" Harley let out a triumphant squeal as she pulled out a crumpled magazine ad and placed it on the table. "Here it is!" Pamela's eyes widened a bit as she saw the smiling face of Xelia among a few others.

"Oh, Harley, please tell me you're not going back to that traitor." Pamela said, practically seething upon seeing the rainbow headed girl on the ad. Harley rubbed the back of her neck, taking a deep breath.

"I don't think she really betrayed me, I think she was justa victim of circumstance, ya know?" She said, trying to justify Xelia leaving with Batman's little lackey last time she saw her. Jervis curiously looked the ad over, frowning in confusion at Xelia's hair.

"She has Mome Raths upon her head." He said, not sure of exactly what to say. Not that the two women were paying attention to him; they were too busy in their own conversation. Jervis just shook his head at the young women's hair as he set down the crumpled ad. "Women."

Ha, I love Jervis, he's soo... cute? Is that term applicable to a grown man who once threatened to chop off Batman's head??

Also, Mome Raths are the little colorful things on the Disney Alice in Wonderland movie, just fyi

We'll get back to Xelia and Eddie's story soon, but I just like writing Harley and Co. It's like a series of comedic events right after the other.

And not to give anything away, but a character will be showing up pretty soon. His name rhymes with The Joker, and...er- Wait... Ah, crap... Lol.

Aloha for now!


	7. You're Only as Smooth as You Pretend

Aaaah, this wording looks awkward to meee! Lol, I'm not on my personal computer right now so everything looks odd.*

Back-to-back updates! Heeeeeeck yeees!

You're only as smooth as you pretend to be

Xelia really wasn't having a good day. She felt extremely uncomfortable in her new uniform, which pretty much consisted of a Playboy bunny suit with tails, to resemble the men's tailcoats. The more high-class customers frowned upon her hair, whispering harsh words about it. She never understood why odd colored hair automatically deemed you as a "ruffian", but she supposed that once the people got over the initial shock factor, they'd just accept it.

"Xelia, table eight's order is ready." One of the cooks announced over the little service window. The dinner service was half way over, and had gone surprisingly smooth; no explosions, no rogues, and no complaints so far. She hadn't even seen her boss, Mr. Cobblepot, around anywhere.

She quickly grabbed up the plates from the window and headed back into the dining room, concentrating on not tripping. At table eight was one of those stuffy business men, the large diamond on his cravat told Xelia that he was a wealthy patron; the diamond, and the fact that he had one of "the best seats in the house". The man's gaze made her uneasy, as if she was an item on display. Goosebumps spread across her exploded flesh, as to if it was from the man's hungry gaze, or from the cold, that was yet to be determined.

"Here you are, sir." Xelia with all the politeness she could muster at the moment. He cheekily smiled at her with, what Xelia assumed, would be his most dazzling smile; to Xelia he just looked like a grinning fox.

"Thank you, my sweet." His classy British accent only added to his stereo-typicalness.

"Tell me, how long have you been employed by Oswald?" The fact that he called Mr. Cobblepot by his first name so casually told Xelia that he more than likely knew him personally. She glanced around a bit, looking for an escape from the awkward situation.

"This is my first night." Xelia said, hoping her short answer will deter him from any further questions. After a few more questions Xelia finally got a chance to slip away. As she was leaving the man's hand strayed to her backside, causing her to jump and whip around, her eyes burning with a rarely seen fury. The man just raised a brow, as if it was an out of line reaction for her to have.

"Something wrong, sweets?" Xelia could feel her face growing red as she furrowed her brow at the man.

"I'd prefer it if you refrained from touching me." She said slowly, trying not to loose her cool over the petty situation; she did after all have bills to pay, so losing her job wasn't exactly on her to do list.

"What's wrong, sweets? Don't like to play, huh?" He smiled at her again, while Xelia just frowned at him, unimpressed.

"If you need anything else, then let me know." She said as she quickly dismissed herself from the situation. She quickly flitted off to find Todd, her assigned manager, to see if he would get someone else to cover that enable for her. It was only her first night and already she was ready to look for another job. The last thing she wanted in a job was people touching her while she was half naked. Or in general, for that matter.

"Hey, Todd, I..." She pursed her lips for a moment, trying to find the correct words. "I'm not so sure that this position is working out." She watched as Todd's smile faltered when the words registered in his mind.

"What is wrong, if I may ask." He seemed to deflate upon Xelia's words, which was understandable; she now knew why they couldn't keep their waitresses.

"Aside from the revealing uniform and the lecherous patrons, nothing." Todd already figured that those were the reasons, those were always the reasons. He had a suspicion that the patron Xelia was referring to was one of Mr. Cobblepot's friends. Normally, if one of the customers were to touch a waitress, they would promptly be shown to the door; Mr.Cobblepot's friends were the only exceptions, only to a small degree, that is, being as they usually have some kind of behind the door deal going on.

"Ok, we'll talk about it to Mr. Cobblepot." Todd led the way to the back room, which Xelia had heard was where The Penguin was still in operation. As they entered, Xelia couldn't help but be impressed. The room was filled with lavish decor, paintings, all sorts of birds that had been preserved through taxidermy, and sculptures; all which were most likely stolen. Xelia raised an eyebrow as a large bouncer blocked the doorway to another room. All Todd had to do was just nod at him, the bouncer moved and nodded back as they entered the room.

"Oh, look, it's Tootles! Oh, and what a pleasant surprise! It's the Technicolored little fishing lure!"

Xelia looked unimpressed as she, once again, stood before a laughing Joker.

This was one of those boring "get somethings worked out" chapters, but the end was good right? right?

As to why The Joker calls Xelia a fishing lure, is because last time they met, he used her as a lure for Batman.

Good bye, so soon (I don't remember the rest of that soooong)


	8. If You're So Smart

THE LONGEST CHAPTER YET! Wooooooo!*

If you're so smart, why don't you have a clue?

Xelia scowled as The Joker laughed, more annoyed than scared of the man at the moment. He was one of the last people that Xelia expected to see, but she supposed that at The Iceberg Lounge anything could happen. The green haired man stood up from the poker table that took up most of the small room, and made a quick bee line for Xelia.

"How's it hangin', lollipop head?" Xelia flinched before scowling him as he casually slung an arm around her shoulders. "Say, no hard feelings about the last time we met, eh? Let bygones be bygones, as I always say." The Joker once again let out a deafening laugh as Xelia quickly squirmed away from him.

"Miss Xelia, I didn't know you and Joker knew one another." The Penguin said, surprised at not only them knowing each other, but also the fact that Xelia even worked in his establishment; he was much too busy to hire all his staff.

"We've had a few good laughs." The Joker answered, while Xelia just rolled her eyes. The Penguin set down hand of cards before standing up himself, his attention now on Todd.

"Todd, my dear boy, what can I do for you?" Todd stole a glance at Xelia before answering.

"Well, sir, I believe that Miss Xelia would like a word with you." The Penguin nodded and headed towards the door with Xelia in tow; she couldn't help but feel bad for leaving Todd to entertain The Joker. The two entered the hall way, where Mr. Cobblepot took his cigarette holder from his lips, and looked at Xelia expectantly.

"Well, um, you see, sir, I- I'm not so sure that this is the job for me." Xelia said as she awkwardly ran her hand through her hair.

"Oh? Whatever is the matter, my dear?" Xelia couldn't help but feel bad for him, nobody wanted to hear that one of their employees don't like their job.

"Well, aside from the uniform, I was having problems with some of the more, er, fresh customers." She blushed a bit as she recalled the situation for her boss, who seemed to understand where she was coming from; he had heard this story before from previous waitresses.

"Perhaps we could find another spot for you for now. I'm sure that some of my customers would be upset to see you go." He said as he flashed her a charming smile. Xelia gave him a watery smile, hopeful that she might still have a chance at keeping her job.

After they tossed around a few ideas, it was determined for, the time being, Xelia would be behind the main bar; The Iceberg Lounge boasted that it had 3 bars, not counting the one in the back room. Xelia didn't mind too much, there would at least be a bar between her and the customers. The two ended their conversation and headed back towards the room.

"Thanks you again, Mr. Cobblepot, I'm so glad tha-" Xelia's sentence got cut off as she got thrown on the floor, with a blinding pain in her head and lip. It took her a moment to register that The Joker had flung the door open into her.

"Oh, sorry, kid. Didn't see you there, perhaps you should try paying attention to what's going on." The purple clad clown laughed, while Mr. Cobblepot frowned at him, before he kneeled down next to Xelia. Todd also shared his boss' look at the happily shrugging Joker. "Clumsy me."

"Are you alright, my dear?" Xelia held one hand to the back of her head, attempting to rub the pain away, while she took The Penguin's odd flipper-like hand. She clumsily stood up, with the help of her boss, and glared at The Clown Prince of Crime.

"Thank you, sir." She said to her boss. As she attempted to smile, a pain shot through her bottom lip. Xelia tenderly put a hand to her bottom lip, finding blood on her fingertips when she retracted it.

"Here, Xelia dear," handed her one his handkerchiefs, and pointed her towards one of the back restrooms. The short man wheeled back around to the Joker "

You're going to have to be more careful, the last thing I need is a lawsuit from one of my employees." The Joker tried his best to look innocent while The Penguin scowled at him.

"Well if your employees wouldn't hang out behind doors I'm trying to open, that wouldn't happen." He said as he casually waved the incident off. "C' mon, Penggy, we've got a card game to finish." He slung an arm around the shorter man, leading him back through the door.

"If I recall correctly, I was winning." Mr. Cobblepot smugly remarked as he sat down. He blinked at his cards for a few moments. "I also had an ace, last I checked." His eyes narrowed at the clown from across the table, who just smiled innocently in return.

Battered and bruised, Xelia trekked up her apartment stairs; wincing as her head pounded with each step. Her lip ended up being split, as to how she managed to cut it, as opposed to breaking her nose, is still a mystery to her. After her lip had finally stopped bleeding, she just hid behind the bar for the rest of her shift. Nobody really paid too much attention to her at that point, thankfully.

She counted her steps, trying to will herself to keep from just passing out on the steps. Sighing happily as she reached her door, she fumbled around in her purse for her keys, sleep being the only thing on her mind at that moment.

"Finally." She whispered to herself as she jammed the key into the key hole with more force than needed; she was tired and her head hurt, she couldn't care less about her key at that moment. She ruffled her hair as she set down her purse at the door.

"You know, you really shouldn't leave your for door unlocked; someone might break in." Xelia jumped about a foot in the air before wheeling around to see The Riddler standing in her living room. She clenched her teeth, summoning up the courage to glare at the intruder the best she could, as he casually leaned on his cane.

"First of all," Xelia prayed that her voice didn't crack or give away her fear at this moment, "I didn't leave my door unlocked. Second of all, you certainly have no room to talk when it comes to breaking in." She slowly reached her arm out, not daring to make a sudden move, and flipped her living room lights on, not wanting to stand around in the dark with a criminal; she'd already been there and done that with not only The Riddler, but The Scarecrow as well back when she got kidnapped by Harley.

"My my, how did you acquire such a nasty cut on your lip? On another note, I didn't break in, the door was open." Xelia subconsciously raised a hand to her lip, lightly brushing her fingertips across the wound. In the back of her mind she vaguely wondered if Naomi had left the door unlocked, since she had lost her key.

"Shouldn't you know? You've only been stalking me for the past who-knows-how-many months, shouldn't you know? After all, you are The great Riddler of Gotham City." Her voice was quiet, scared to raise it past a certain decibel. What would the neighbors say? "Let me guess, you're to extract your oh-so-genius revenge? Is that it? You know, if you're just planning on killing me, then just put a pipe bomb in my mailbox or something." Xelia pursed her lips unsure if she should be crying or yelling out of frustration towards the green clad man.

"Kill you? I don't want to-"

"What? What then? Kill me slowly with riddles, and stolen jewelry, which, by the way, I didn't appreciate. Just because my hair looks like a Rubix cube, doesn't mean it is one, especially not your own personal one." Xelia took a step towards him, wanting so badly to just know what he wanted so she could just get everything over with; she was ready to just tell him to help himself to whatever he wanted out of her apartment, while she headed off to bed. Not that she expected The Riddler to be appeased by simply pilfering her microwave and television.

He'd never meant to actually confront her yet, he only meant to leave another riddle for her; judging from her regular routine, she was usually already in bed by this time. He mentally frowned a bit, it was such a good riddle too, such a waste. He supposed it would have to wait for another night.

Edward Nygma had to stop for a moment and think. What did he want? At first, he wanted revenge. To make her play his game the "right" way this time, without her cheating, or without Batman coming to save her. Make her figure out the puzzle, the enigma, to save her own life. What Eddie wanted now was a mystery, a puzzle, that somehow included Xelia as well. Eddie was a brilliant genius, so why couldn't he sort out his thoughts? After all, he was The Riddler, right?

**Oof, looking back, this chapter has some cringe in it. **

Yay, Eddie's back... and clueless.

I'm hoping that I got everyone in character, if not let me know what I can do to improve. **Plot Twist: My own character was out of character.**

I'm having some troubles on getting Eddie's feelings all sorted out, so if you have any pointers or ideas, let me knoooooow.

Catch you on the flip side! *Ollies into the sun*


	9. Are You Always This Charming

Are you always this charming?

Xelia tried her best to stifle a yawn as she pondered how to get Edward Nygma, "Gotham's most brilliant mind", out of her apartment; maybe she could throw a Rubix cube into the hall way, or better yet the window, in hopes he'll chase after it. Her fatigue won her over, as she gave into a dainty yawn, cutting the awkward silence that still hung in the room.

She watched as he silently mulled over her question of what it is she wanted. His face ranged from a wide assortment of emotions, and yet always seems to maintain an air of smugness thanks to the smirk that almost always was present; curious, annoyed, cheeky. It was almost impossible for one to guess what he, of all people, was thinking. His trademark smirk took over his features, as he turned his attention back to Xelia.

"Riddle me thi-"

"No." Xelia flatly cut him off as she stepped out of the way of the door, earning a scowl from the red headed man; he wasn't a fan of being cut short, especially when he had such a great riddle in mind. "No riddles, puzzles, or wordplay. I just want you out of my home. Go back to your headquarters, or lair, or fort; whatever it is you call it, so I can go to bed."

Eddie smirked as the girl glared over her hand which was currently pointing him towards the door, not that he intended to leave just yet. It was more than obvious that the girl wasn't in the best of moods, and yet Eddie could still find something about her that he liked. He'd spent quite a long time watching her, plotting a revenge that he couldn't quite bring himself to extract. It was a pattern he had fallen into, one that he was quite comfortable with, if he might say so himself; not that she was aware of the times they had "shared".

"How about I come back again tomorrow?" He asked, leaning towards her with a suave smile plastered to his lips.

"Oh, for the love of…" Xelia leaned back a bit, teeth ground together, as she tried not to blush, and regain her personal space. She was clearly flustered by everything that had thrown it's self at her that day. "No. Not tomorrow, not next month, not ever." She sputtered out a few indistinguishable phrases as she tugged on her hair a bit. "Just- just get it through your head, I don't want to be part of your games, crimes, or life. I just wish I could go back to a normal life, go back to being a hair stylist, an-"

"Go back to being? What do you me-" For the second time in less than five minutes, Xelia cut him off, this time with a step towards him and a small poke in the chest.

"No, just stop it. No more of you knowing about my life, no more anything! I-I'm just so frustrated with everything. Do you have any idea how terrifying it is that I have stolen jewelry, compliments from you, in my dresser? I can't call the cops, I can't just give them away, I-yo-you planned this! It's a physical object linking us, well guess what? They're going to end up in the Gotham Bay! No more sleepless nights wondering if anyone will find them." Xelia knew that she more than likely was acting crazy, ranting on about everything, but her emotions were coming out full scale. The Riddler looked as if he was just taking her words in, not really giving any clues to what he was really thinking of her words.

"My dear, I must say that you're in too deep to even hope of a normal life any longer. Why, Harley Quinn, one of Gotham's most wanted, considers you a good friend." There was a slight chuckle in his voice, revealing that he found the angered Xelia to be no scarier than a goldfish floating in a bowl.

"Not to mention that you, sir, are obsessed. As to what exactly, I'm not quite sure, but, I'm certain it involves me somehow. I honestly think that you're obsessed with your revenge scheme, so much that you just can't stand me to live my life until you get what you want. You-I-…you're just flat out insan-" Xelia quickly stopped yelling at him and ducked down, yelping as his trademark cane smashed into a near-by lamp; she wasn't exactly sure if he meant to hit her, or if he just meant to scare her, either way she wasn't about to ask him. She could feel her bottom lip start to quiver as The Riddler towered over her, now seated, form. She couldn't help but let out a whimper as his purple clad hand shot out and firmly grabbed her jaw, his masked eyes boring into hers.

"My dear, you have yet to see insanity. I've been nothing but civil to you, and I must say, you've been quite unruly." A cruel smirk came to his lips as he saw fear surging in her eyes. Eddie couldn't help but savor this moment of temporary closeness, as he ran a gloved finger over her split bottom lip. "You, my dear, truly are a puzzle yourself; a frustrating, emotional, puzzle." His grip tightened, emphasizing his harsh words, making Xelia squirm uneasily.

She'd hate to admit it, but Xelia honestly missed his "happier, dapper-dan-like" personality. Although he was annoying, over-the-top, and mildly psychotic, he could be charming in his extremely unique way; not that she would ever tell him, the last thing he needed was another ego boost. She gave a small sigh of relief as he let her chin go, his thumb brushing against her cheek, sending shivers down her spine. She was mentally berating herself for even thinking of calling him "the 'I' word", but she was quite angry at the time, and wasn't thinking.

He cleared his throat, attempting to clear the air of the awkwardness that clung in it.

"So, do tell me, are you always this charming?" He chuckled as his mood bounced back to "normal". Xelia could hardly believe that he would ask such a question, especially after he almost used her head as a piñata; instead he used her lamp as one.

"Only after I get my head slammed into a door, courtesy of The Joker, then come home to find my friendly neighborhood Riddler waiting in my living room." She sourly answered, glaring at him from under her rainbow hair; the bright cheerful colors made it almost impossible for her to come across as any threat. He visibly balanced as she mentioned his fellow rogue's name.

"The Joker? He did that to you?" He said the Clown Prince of Crime's name so icily, that Xelia almost feared he would once again lash out at her. She rubbed the back of her head, which was starting to actually feel better; that or The Riddler's hissy fit had taken all her attention away from the pain.

"Well, it was actually an accident, to be honest, or, at least, he claimed it was an accident." She quietly added, frowning as she recalled the clown's carelessness. He seemed to be wrapped up in his thoughts once more, leaving Xelia to entertain herself for the moment. It was odd, to see someone the papers claimed to be "evil", to be concerned that someone had hurt her.

"Well, dear," Xelia frowned as a dark, scheming, smirk took over his features, "I must be off. I must have an important meeting to attend to." He twirled his came a bit as he brushed past a confused Xelia.

"At 2 in the morning? Yeah, great time to have a meeting." She stated flatly as he opened her door, turning back to tip his hat to her.

"Till next time, my dear." She watched as The Riddler practically skipped down the hallway of her apartment complex. Xelia just glared at him, closing the door halfway to make sure he actually left.

"Yeah, go play in traffi-… Wait, 'next time'?"

So, not my best chapter in my opinion. I feel as though the scenario was a little too forced and unnatural, but maybe I'm just crazy.

**Agreed, younger me. I tried to slip in a few edits here and there to hopefully help this chapter work more and be less forced and cringe-ish. **

I feel like Eddie was OOC, but I'll let you guys be the judge of that.

Tell me what you though, if you loved it, hated it, or would change it.

Peace Out!


	10. Whatever You Say, Harls

Whatever you say, Harls

Xelia happily slept most of the morning away. Cocooned in her blankets, safe from rogues, and safe from the chill of the late Fall air, which as beginning to creep into the apartment. In a few weeks Gotham would become dusted by a beautiful snowfall; Xelia could hardly wait, but in the meantime, she'd eventually have to get out of bed. She groaned as she rolled over and blindly swatted at her nightstand, attempting to find her cell phone. After a few painful failed attempts, she managed to grab her phone, only to blind herself with the bright screen.

Xelia muttered a few choice words as she tried her best to force her eyes to adjust to the sudden light change. After she read all of Naomi's texts, letting Xelia know that she wouldn't be home that night, she frowned at her five missed calls from her mother; if at first you don't succeed…

"Yes, mom, I'm fine. I was just sleeping in, it's Saturday for Pete's sake!" Xelia frowned as she listened to her mother list off all the things she thought had happened to Xelia. The rainbow haired girl mentally winced as her mother mentioned that someone could have broken into Xelia's apartment. If only she knew. "Seriously, mom? Nobody is going to break in." She lied, sighing exasperatedly as she went back and forth with her mother for a few moments before bidding her good bye, happily hanging up the phone. As much as Xelia loved her mother, she always had the ability to take Xelia on extreme guilt trips. Xelia finished up getting ready for her day, which she luckily had off; the nasty cut on her lip would likely scare off customers.

She froze as she stepped into her hall way. She could see flecks of glass gleaming in the morning light, the sight of the shattered lamp bringing memories from last night to the front of her mind. It was so surreal, if not for the shattered lamp, she could almost pass it off as a bad dream. She let out a heavy sigh as she began to clean up all of the shards, careful to not cut herself; another cut was the last thing she needed.

"Note to self, gotta find a new lamp." She muttered to herself as she discarded the pieces in the trash can. She wasn't too thrilled with the fact that she'd have to make up a story as to what happened to the living room lamp; she doubted that Naomi would be too happy with her if she learned that The Riddler was in their apartment, or the fact that he'd waltzed out without Xelia calling the cops.

"Looks like I get to go shopping today."

"Whattaya mean 'let go'!?" The young employee on the other end of the phone cringed at the loud shrill voice, obviously not accustomed to being yelled at.

"I-I'm sorry, ma'am, but as I said Xelia no longer works here. If- If you would like, I can schedule you an appointment with another stylist, who would be more than happy to help you." She groveled, hoping to please the woman on the phone.

"Don't botha, I don't trust jus anyone." Harley pouted as she hung up the phone, obviously unpleased with the news that her friend and hair stylist had been dismissed. Despite Poison Ivy's clear disapproval of Harley's choice, she said nothing; she'd already told Harley of her opinions on the subject.

"Can ya believe that, Red?" Harley complained to Ivy, who was flipping through a garden magazine, uninterested in Harley's news. "They sacked Skittles! Now whattam I supposed ta do?" She emphasized her frustration by tugging on her blonde ponytail, which had a few inches of dark roots showing. The red headed woman just rolled her eyes at her melodramatic companion as she casually flipped a page.

"You could just let it grow out. Do you know how many chemicals are in hair dye anyways?" Harley looked as if Ivy just suggested she shave her head instead.

"Whatta ya nuts? I can't just let it grow out! It- it's who I am!" Harley said as she tried to explain to Ivy's deaf ears why she just had to be a blonde. She could remember how she'd transformed herself into a blonde, with the aid of a few of her college roommates, and how she'd fallen in love with the hair color. She would never go back. She got more attention, more confidence, and it had just become part of her; everyone knew that Harley Quinn was blonde. The partial blonde racked her brain for ideas on Xelia's whereabouts; the rainbow head had been very selective on what information she'd released to Harley, and her address was certainly not one of them.

"Too bad, hun. Guess you'll just have to find someone else to dye it for you. Why not try one of Cobblepot's girls? Surely one of those blonde bimbos of his will know of someone who can help." Ivy suggested from behind her magazine, still not interested in her friend's "dilemma", if one could even call it that.

"Maybe so," Harley sighed as she flopped into a nearby chair, "but Skittles was onna my f-" She was about to say friend, but Ivy's eye roll from over her magazine was enough to change her mind. "She wassa good hair stylist." She nervously chuckled as Ivy just shook her head. Ivy didn't want to get into anything at the moment; she'd already sent Jervis packing when he decided to make tea from one of her priceless plants.

"Whatever you say, Harls."

Obligatory boring chapter...

I'm not a fan of writing Haley and Ivy because I always feel like all Ivy does is just naaaaaag :{

Let me know if you have any suggestions for writing Ivy, because I feel like I could use a good crash course in it.

Also, let me know any of your comments, concerns, ideas, world dominations plots.

BRB, L8TER, BBL, LUVYA, LOLWTFBBQ, ROFLCOPTER


	11. Its Only a Little White Lie

It's only a little white lie

Eddie was seeing red.

"That idiotic, bumbling buffoon… That-That…" He could even form a real sentence at the moment. One of his stupid henchmen had gotten caught by Batman while running some "errands" for Eddie. Now it was only a matter of time before that waste-of-space-thug squealed on Eddie's whereabouts. He put his chin in his hand as he thought over the situation, going over each detail; trying his best to not lose his temper at the moment. The last thing he needed was to break his computer monitor, or one of the priceless emeralds he was casually using as paperweights.

"Well, Batman, by the time you even begin to question my man, I'll be long gone from here." Eddie smirked to himself as he began to research some new locations to relocate to. It was always easier said than done, to find a new hide out. One must scope out the site, be sure that it was all clear, and discreetly live in the building; it wasn't easy to make a place look abandoned while you're living in it. Skipped meals, single light-bulb lighting, and minimal furniture was just another day for a rogue. On the flipside, after a large heist, Eddie would usually move into a penthouse downtown Gotham until it was time to lay low again; mob bosses ran most of the nicer hotels in Gotham.

It took Eddie a couple of hours to do it, but he finally managed to find a place and erase it from all pubic websites, and real estate listings. Of course, it would still remain in visible to certain computers, such as police databases, government records, and other non-public archives. He leaned back in his leather green chair, quite pleased with himself. By tomorrow morning, he'd be in a new place, while Batman and his young sidekick found themselves at just another dead end. Eddie couldn't help but mentally pat himself on the back, he thrived on out witting "The World's Greatest Detective"; it truly was a triumphant task.

He looked around his small "office" at all the things he'd need to pack up, which luckily wasn't a lot. Being on the run frequently had taught Eddie to take essentials only. Most of his furniture was disposable, and had no need to be taken to the new place. There were a few items that he'd always tote around with him though, his leather chair, his personal knick-knacks, and his multiple computer systems. Eddie laced his purple clad hands behind his heads as he leaned back in his chair and allowed his brilliant mind to wander.

Almost instantly, his mind strayed to thoughts of a certain girl of his, not that he minded too much. A grin spread across his face as he recalled the events from the previous night; the girl truly was a delight to rile up, as a defiant spirit would bubble up from within her. A sour frown quickly replaced his happy grin as he began to remember some more vivid details; The Joker had given the girl a cut lip. Eddie was far from happy about that. What was she doing around that stupid clown anyways? She was a friend of Harley's, of course, but he doubted that she'd openly subject herself to that green headed fool. Eddie fisted his hands on his chair's arm rests, as he thought about it.

He couldn't help that he was a possessive man; just about any red-blooded man would be equally possessive over their woman. Ever since he was little, Eddie had a sharing problem, that much he'd admit; if something was his, why should he let anyone have or touch it? He was sure that in some way, shape, or form, that it also contributed to his life of crime. Being able to have riches beyond everyone's wildest dreams at your disposal, and being the secret object of envy of Gotham's ordinary citizens; that knowledge alone was able to send goose bumps up Eddie's arms.

"Er, boss?" Eddie quickly set his jaw, and hardened his eyes, as he turned in his chair to face one of his nameless henchmen, who opened the door, but didn't dare to step in. "Everything is ready to go, just as you asked." Eddie grabbed up his cane with a flourish, and stood up.

"Wonderful, have the boys load up the van, and be quick about it." He said with a non-disputable air of authority. He smirked as the man quickly went to do what he'd been asked to, while Eddie went to packing his items that lay upon his desk. His henchmen were much too clumsy to be trusted with his personal belongings, not to mention, too greedy; he'd seen the way some of his henchmen had eyed his "paperweights" and money pile.

"So, tell me one more time, how you managed to cut your lip and break the lamp?" Laughter laced Naomi's voice as she shifter her gaze from the many lamps to Xelia, who looked all but amused at the situation.

"I was trying to do yoga, now shut up and pick a lamp." Xelia answered, unhappy about how easily she just lied to her best friend, of all people. She was quite torn between feeling bad for lying to Naomi, and feeling good for "protecting" Naomi from all the emotions and danger Xelia herself was facing. She sighed as she tried her best to focus on finding a lamp and ignoring her guilty conscience.

"And how did that go for ya?" Naomi asked, no longer attempting to hide her laugh, as she made a decision and grabbed up a lamp. Xelia just raised a brow as she smiled at her friend; happy to have something that's normal in her upside down life.

"Yeah, yeah, yuk it up. I can recall a time in beauty school when a certain somebody tried to cut their finger off while trimming their first client's hair." Naomi just went red as she recalled the memory of cutting her finger as opposed to the client's hair.

"I was nervous." She lamely defended as her friend just laughed at her, before just opting to stick her tongue out at the rainbow headed girl. Xelia stuck her hands in her pockets as her laughter faded into a smile. It was so odd how just last night her life was anything but normal, but here she stood, in the epitome of normal, as she casually went shopping with her best friend. She knew that eventually she'd have to stop, and confess her "other life", and all that's been happening, to Naomi, but for right now she was content to keep her two worlds separate.

I really wanted to take timed to flesh Eddie out, and give some more

to Riddle-head. I hope I did him justice :P Lol, the green chair returns! Yeah, bet none of you could have guessed that would return. I'm just going to pretend that Eddie had enough time to escape the fun house from B-man, AND grab his comfy chair. (it's fanFICTION, people… things can happen, lol) I believe that in private (and also in public at times) Eddie's face can show all his emotions, such as when he's thinking about Xelia, happy smiley face, and when Joker comes to mind, frowney face, lol. I just perceive him as an animated person (Loooool!1!1 Maybe because he IS animated, yuk yuk yuk. Yeah, but as opposed to someone, such as Batman who is expressionless, Eddie has a wide array of emotions.) Sorry if he seemed like BI-POLAR or something with his quick emotion changes. (well, for all I know he might BE bi-polar :P)

Yeah, I just wanted a nice little nostalgic moment between Xelia and her bestie Naomi, since Naomi doesn't get much love these days. I hate having her as a "dive-by character" for the moment, but she'll be back in the story soon.

Much Love!


	12. Tag A Long Leon

Tag-a-long Leon

"Would you please just let me carry the lamp?"

"No way! The last thing we need is another broken lamp." Xelia said as she tried her best to carry said lamp in her arms, juggle the plastic bags hanging from her arms, and try her best to watch where she's going from around the lampshade. Naomi just rolled her eyes at her stubborn friend, ready to laugh when Xelia goes down hard.

"If you hadn't broken the first lamp, then there would be no worries about breaking this one." She said as she tried her best to guide Xelia up the steps, and towards the apartment door.

"The keys are in my purse, in the pocket." Xelia said as she struggled to keep hold of all the items. Naomi fished around for a few seconds before she grabbed the key and slowly opened the door.

"Here," she said as she stepped to Xelia's side, "you go first." Xelia raised a brow, but certainly wasn't about to complain as she rushed in and set everything down by the door. She turned to see Naomi still lurking in the doorway, peering in cautiously.

"Um, are you ok?" Xelia asked, worried that her friend had finally lost her mind.

"No bombs, riddles, or super villains hiding anywhere?" Naomi asked as slowly treaded inside of the apartment; hand still on the door handle, ready to run. Xelia once again raised a brow and scanned the areas that she could see at that moment.

"Um, no… Not that I can see." Xelia set off to do a more thorough search of the apartment, her heart racing, praying that The Riddler wouldn't make good on his "come again tomorrow" suggestion. She couldn't help but release a sigh of relief as no bombs, riddles, or green clad men were anywhere to be found. "All clear." She called from the hallway to Naomi, who had not quite strayed from the door.

Xelia allowed her mind to stray as she and Naomi began to put away the items they'd purchased. On one hand, she was glad that Naomi was safe from contact with any of her rogues. Or, at least, that's what she'd like to believe. In the deep recesses of her mind Xelia was happy that Naomi wouldn't get the chance to call the police on any of them either; the idea that Xelia was willing to be around the rogues with no police, no Batman or Robin, or no friends to call scared her. They were all right, Xelia was in too deep to climb out of this viper pit she'd fallen into. Visions of her fear-toxin induced nightmare filled her mind, The Joker's laugh echoing in her mind as he taunted her.

"Hel-freaking-lo!" Earth to Xelia, come in Xe!" A hand shot into Xelia's vision, waving around as it tried to gain her attention. "Jeeze, you're such a space cadet." Naomi huffed as she crossed her arms, as Xelia just smiled in response.

"Sorry, Nao, you were saying?" Naomi just pouted for a moment, before breaking into a smile; she couldn't even pretend that she was upset with her best friend.

"As I said, Dustin's going to come over tonight to watch a movie." She happily said, missing Xelia's smile as it faltered. Not that Xelia minded Dustin or anything; she just minded being the third wheel in these situations. Usually she just ended up making an excuse to leave the apartment for the majority of the time, or just going to bed early.

"Sounds great, we'll watch a movie or something."

Sounds great indeed; not. As a couple hours passed the three had dinner, chatted, and were currently watching a movie. Xelia on one side of the couch, while Naomi was wrapped up in Dustin's arms on the opposite side of the couch looking quite cozy. Xelia mentally sighed as she watched from the corner of her eye Naomi and Dustin sneaking kisses in the dark every now and then.

"I think that the popcorn fumes are giving me a headache," Xelia lamely lied as she stood up and made her way to the front door. Naomi turned her attention from the movie to her friend, knowing that she wasn't enjoying being a third wheel.

"You sure, Xe?" She asked giving her rainbow headed friend a worried look. Xelia gave her a watery smile as she zipped up her coat.

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

"Be safe…" Naomi said quietly to the now closed door.

Xelia let out a sigh, watching as it floated into the cold night air. She stood outside the door as she planned out a destination for herself. Although the city park sounded nice, it was hardly a safe place for a young girl to go alone, especially after dark. A breeze brought in the chilly night air, making her decide that someplace indoor would be best; the coffee shop down the street would be a great place.

"Hey." Xelia jumped about a foot in the air, whirling around to find her odd ball neighbor, Leon.

"Oh, gosh, you scared me, Leon." She said laughing nervously at her jumpiness. He smiled at her, taking note of her purse and jacket.

"Going out somewhere?" He questioned as he brought out a pack of cigarettes from his jacket.

"Yeah, I was about to head to the coffee shop to grab a coffee." Xelia answered, trying her best not to show her disgust as the smell of smoke wafted towards her. After a few deep inhales Leon looked over at her and sheepishly smiled.

"Er, sorry, I hope that smoking doesn't offend you." Xelia just shrugged back.

"It's only the smell of smoke that bothers me." She answered moving up wind from the smoke.

"Hey, you want some company? I'd be happy to walk with you to the coffee shop, maybe my friend will be working and we can get some free coffee." He gave her an excited smile as he snuffed out the cigarette. Xelia sat for a moment, weighing her options, trying her best to find a reason to say no to him. So far Leon had been kind to her; a little hyper, but kind none the less. Although the coffee shop was just a few blocks from the apartment, Gotham city wasn't exactly the safest place to run around alone in. Xelia gave him a lopsided smile, and shrugged once more.

"Sure, why not?"

"Oh, keep dreaming! That would never happen." Xelia claimed as she looked across the table at Leon from behind her coffee cup. He playfully rolled his eyes at her from behind his own coffee cup.

"C'mon, Destroyah could totally take down King Ghidorah." He defended as he happily held onto his cup, warming his chilly hands. "Destoryah killed Godzilla's son, I'm sure that he could easily defeat Ghidorah." Xelia in turn just rolled her eyes at his justification.

"Godzilla himself couldn't even defeat Ghidorah alone, he enlisted the help of other monsters; Destroyah was defeated by Godzilla as he was dying." It was certainly an odd turn of events, Xelia sitting with her odd over eager neighbor, drinking coffee, and discussing Godzilla, of all things. It was nice to have such a casual moment, not having to worry about much else other than having to stay warm. Leon really was an ok guy, if not overly hyper; he liked the same movies and music as Xelia. The small coffee shop was mostly empty, save for a group of high school students in the back of the shop. For a few sweet moments, Xelia had the chance to forget that she was in the middle of downtown Gotham City.

As they finished up their drinks, they readied themselves to go back out into the chilly night air. Xelia stepped out into the cold, and gripped her jacket tighter to herself a bit; how it wasn't snowing yet was beyond her. Leon seemed to be enjoying the fact that Xelia had decided to include him on her adventure, as opposed to openly avoiding him.

"Hey," Leon jumped into her pathway, grinning childishly, "betcha I can jump that bench." Xelia in return just chuckled as she watched him take off towards said bench.

"Betcha I'm not taking you to the E.R when you break your leg." She called after him, laughing as he managed to clear the bench with ease.

"See?" He trotted back up to Xelia's side, panting slightly, "I told you I could do it." Xelia just rolled her eyes as she stuffed her hands deep into her warm pockets.

"Yeah, well next time you break your face in half doing that, don't call me." This time it was Leon who rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, as if you'd just leave me lying there." He turned towards Xelia, walking backwards, as Xelia playfully stuck her tongue out at him.

The rest of the way was spent quietly enjoying the night, and what little of the stars they could spot through the smog and city lights. It was certainly an odd thought to think that maybe not, but a couple blocks away, there was more than likely some kind of crime going on; it was Gotham City after all. Super Villains, mob bosses, and an army of petty thieves raged war against each other, and the innocent citizens of Gotham.

"Well, that was fun." Xelia said as they approached their apartment complex. Leon smiled happily at her as he pulled his pack of cigarettes out again.

"Next time, I'll be sure my friend is working there; free coffee anyone?" He joked as Xelia gritted her teeth from the smell invading her nostrils once more.

"Down wind, Leonardo." She said as she shooed him to the other side of her.

"Heh, my bad." He said sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed that he'd forgotten.

"Well, it's been fun, but I've got work tomorrow, and falling asleep on the job won't look to good on my resume." Xelia said as she headed towards her door, bidding the brunette headed boy a casual good night as she disappeared into her apartment. Leon sat in the hallway, smoking his cigarette, still looking at Xelia's door.

"Destroyah would totally win." He said quietly as he snuffed out his cigarette on the way to his door.

Longest chapter yet, hotdog!

Since I've given just about everyone BUT Leon some character definition, I decided to take that challenge on. Is he a good guy? Bad guy? I'm not telling, muahahahaah!

Ok, so some of my personal nerdiness leaked into this chapter, such as the Godzilla references, but that's the fun of writing your own stories; you're allowed to do those sort of things and get away with it ;]

The next chapter's going to be pretty fun to write as well, for some characters get reunited once again! Hooray! Lol, you'll have to guess which ones though :P Expect the unexpected!

Sorry if this chapter wasn't what you expected, I decided to throw a curve ball chapter ]

COFFEE IS LOVE


	13. Mad Tragedy

Mad Tragedy

Xelia frowned down at her notebook as she glanced over it once more. She'd spent all morning gathering names and numbers of Gotham's salons, spas, and even dog groomers. As much as she did appreciate Mr. Cobblepot's generosity, but her current job will either send her screaming to Arkham, or and early grave, given the clientele there. A few solid 'no's and some requests for an interview later, Xelia felt much better; she's put all of her efforts into earning her cosmetology license, it'd be a waste not to use it. She glanced up at the clock, not looking forward to going to work for obvious reasons. Last time The Joker had slammed a door into her face, who knows that might happen tonight; Killer Croc may attempt to two-step with her, taking her arm off in the process. She closed her notebook and headed towards her bathroom to get ready for her work night.

The Joker couldn't keep from scowling as he nearly got bowled over by Harley Quinn as she threw herself in his arms. He grounded his teeth as she began to squeal in his ear, oblivious to his annoyance by her. On top of Harley's loud mouth, Bud and Lou were "laughing" with glee at the sight of their "mommy". The Clown Prince of Crime finally managed to pry his henchwoman off of him, causing the girl to stumble back a bit; her smile never left her face, despite the rough shove.

"Oh, Mr. J, ain't it great ta be back togetha again?" Harley asked as she gave him a loving look, while The Joker just rolled his eyes; the feeling wasn't quite mutual.

"Fantastic." He claimed his voice low and sarcastic. The blonde, or partially blonde, rather, just smiled as she cartwheeled over to where Bud and Lou were patiently waiting for her attention.

"Oh, my babies, mommy missed you. Yes, she did, oh yes, she did." Harley cooed as she gently scratched the hyenas behind their ears and showered them with kisses. The Joker ignored his henchwoman as he returned to his desk, papers and blueprints littered the area around him. He'd been planning his latest scheme for some time now, and it was quite brilliant, if he did say so himself. With Harley here it would be twice as easy, provided that she doesn't get in the way.

"So, Mr. J, do ya have any plans for us, now that we're reunited?" Harley asked as she sat on the corner of the desk, trying her best to gain her boss' attention. She frowned as he paid no attention to her, and instead tried to flutter her eye lashes at him. One more, Harley frowned, and pouted as she was ignored.

"Aw, c'mon, Puddin, let's go out for a night on tha town." Harley insisted as she rubbed her cheek against The Joker's, causing him to lose concentration on what he was doing.

Harley's cheek was quickly met with The Joker's as he casually shoved the girl's face away from his, knocking her off the desk as well.

"Not now, Harley." The green haired man said as she directed a glare down at the black and red heap on the floor. "Daddy's busy." Harley quickly shut her mouth as she heard his voice grow deeper, gaining a more murderous tone. She instead silently pouted as she went over to the only thing that seemed to appreciate her around here; Bud and Lou.

The Joker's red lips slowly returned to their natural smile as he turned away from his plans.

"Harley girl, how would you like to help your dear old Mr. J?" Harley's frown quickly turned upside down as The Joker helped her to her feet.

"What didja have in mind, Puddin?" She asked as she happily took his arm.

"Oh, just a little outing. We'll even get to play dress up!" He began to cackle as he led Harley to the van he'd stolen.

"Is…is that a fish?" Xelia asked, not even attempting to mask her disgust.

"Who're you to judge, Pink." Xelia just gritted her teeth as Brock, the bartender, shoved the glass closer to her; she hated the name 'Pinky'. "Just take it to the boss." Xelia eyed the martini with the anchovy, instead of an olive, floating in it, cautiously taking it. Her gaze was returned by the unblinking little fish, creeping her out. She scanned the room for the eccentric club owner, spotting him in one of the back restaurant booths. Xelia couldn't help but wonder what he was doing away from his "roost", but she supposed that since he owned the place, he could do as he pleased. Carefully weaving her way through customers, tables, and other employees she managed to make it there without spilling anything.

"Excuse me, Mr. Cobblepot, here's your drink." Xelia said politely, diverting the man's attention from another man across the table from him.

"Oh, Xelia, my dear, Thank you." He said as he happily took the grotesque beverage from her hand. "If I may be so bold, Miss Xelia, you're looking wonderful tonight. Your lip looks much better as well." Xelia just politely smiled back as she tried her best to not blush at the forward comment.

"Er, thank you, sir." She fidgeted with her hands for a moment, "Is there anything else you need, sir?" She watched as The Penguin tapped a flipper like finger to his chin in thought.

"No, that will be all, Xelia dear." Xelia nodded her head before heading back towards the bar; nervously smiling at the customers she passed. She'd been having trouble maneuvering around the place without being either stared at or questioned about her hair. She had to admit, it was quite vibrant against the muted blues, blacks, and pure whites of the building. A group of giggling girls pointed towards her, causing her head to lower as she hurried her pace back to her hiding spot.

Harley was, once more, back to pouting. As well as, once more, sitting on the floor with Bud and Lou, but this time in her most seductive night gown she owned. The Joker had taken her along with him to a dentist's office, where Commissioner Gordon had an appointment. Unknown to The Joker, she'd left a note for Batman at the costume shop they'd robbed right before; it turns out Harley was no Riddler, and Batman easily found them. Everything had gone downhill from there, as The Joker went back to looking over his plans and blueprints of deathtraps for Batman. Harley made the mistake of disturbing him and he, once more, tossed her out after he finished yelling at her. She sighed as she began to recall how she'd fallen in love with The Joker in the first place. A smile began to spread across her face as she remembered his face when she'd first broken him out of Arkham; he was so happy.

"It seemed like we would live happily ever afta." Harley said fondly as she gently stroked her "babies" fur. Her smile quickly faded into a frown once again as she remembered a certain Caped Crusader always spoiling their happiness. "But that'll neva happen as long as there's a Batman around ta torment my Puddin." She said sourly. Harley's mind began to wonder how to remedy that problem; smiling as she thought up a solution.

"Alright, Pinky, time for you to clock out." Brock just smiled as Xelia glared at him; did he thrive on her annoyance? She wiped down the last of the bar glasses before practically running to the back room to change from her uniform. She found it pointless to try to correct Brock on her name; it's not as if he'd use it anyways. Personally, she had no idea what he had against her, but she wasn't about to ask. For now, she'd live with the snide remarks, and awful nickname. On her way back out she passed up Todd, who seemed to be in a hurry to go somewhere.

"Hey, Todd." Xelia called out, causing him to stop in his tracks and look for the source of the voice. He focused on Xelia, blinking for a moment before smiling at her.

"Hello, Xelia. Sorry, I was on my way to the back." He said, looking embarrassed at his absentmindedness. "I hope Brock's not being too hard on you." He chuckled, knowing how the bartender could be harsh at times. Xelia shook her head in response.

"It's nothing I can't handle." She smiled reassuringly at the young man.

"That's good, just don't take anything he says personally. He's been here for quite a while and seen his fair share of people come and go; he's always leery about the new people." Xelia just chuckled a bit as she began to head towards the front entrance.

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind." She said over her shoulder, seeing Todd heading back towards the back rooms. Xelia always had to pause for a moment when she went through the entrance hall; everything was so beautiful, even if it was likely stolen, or bought with illegal funds. She looked around a bit more as she adjusted her coat, prepping herself to go into the cold.

It was a beautiful night, or rather, it would have been if there wasn't a chorus of sirens wailing a block away. Xelia rounded the corner, curious a to why there were several cop cars, an ambulance, and a fire truck there; all of them had their lights on and some even had their sirens still blaring. A small crowd of curious citizens stood around the police line, just as Xelia herself was about to do. Large shards of glass, metal fragments, and various debris littered the street just beyond the yellow tape. She tried her best to piece together what had happened, as she glanced up at the building that shadowed the crime scene; it looked as though a window had busted out on one of the higher levels of the building.

Xelia felt her breath hitch as a voice mumbled from the wreckage; there was a person among all of that. Did someone fall out of the window? Judging by how high up that window was, the person was more than lucky to be alive.

The paramedics and fire fighters quickly began to free the poor person from the mangled sheets of metal, while the police looked on. Hushed whispers rose from the small crowd of onlookers, discussing their thoughts and concerns. All at once, the paramedics began shouting for a neck brace, gauze, and other various medical supplies. They carefully began to lift whomever onto a red gurney like device.

Xelia couldn't suppress the gasp that escaped from her lips, nor could she hold back the tears that sprang to her eyes. All Xelia could see at that point was a battered and bruised Harley Quinn; not a wanted criminal, but an injured friend. Xelia's breathing became erratic as she began to push her way as close as the caution tape would allow her to get to the harlequin, despite the protests of the other onlookers.

"Wh- what happened?" Xelia frantically asked the officer closest to her. "Is she ok?" The cop looked at Xelia as if she was crazy. Why would a random pedestrian care about a wanted criminal? Personally, Xelia couldn't care less about what the man thought at that moment, or what anyone else thought, for that matter.

"Calm down, lady. She'll be fine." The officer responded, confused about the girl's odd erratic behavior. Xelia's eyes widened at his comment, her hands gripping the plastic tape as if her life depended on it.

"Obviously not, if they're taking her away in an ambulance." She responded, her voice shaky as she was nearly shouting at him. A few tears rolled down her cheeks as she noticed shards of glass impaled in Harley's tan skin, beneath her jester costume. "Harley!" Xelia couldn't quite figure out what compelled her shout out the harlequin's name; with all the police around, Xelia could easily get sent to jail, should one begin to question her. Slowly, and what seemed quite painfully, Harley opened her eyes, looking up at the paramedics, then looking at her surroundings. Xelia couldn't help but smile as Harley's eyes met hers, clenching her teeth as to not let a sob escape her lips as a small weary smile crept onto Harley's.

"Hi, Skittles." Xelia was taken aback for a moment as Harley's voice was different; instead of Harley's normal shrill voice, an even smooth tone replaced it. It was Harley's real voice, as opposed to her Harley Quinn falsetto voice. The rainbow haired girl quickly rubbed at the tear tracks that marked her face.

That was all the interaction the two had before Harley was loaded into the ambulance and driven away.

"You again?" Xelia jumped and quickly spun around, coming face to chest with Gotham's Dark Knight. She gasped as she raised her eyes to meet his, seeing no emotion shown aside from his ever present frown.

"Batman, what happened to Harley?" Her voice was calmer, now with just a tone of sadness, as opposed to full blown panic. The masked vigilante's jaw clenched, before responding.

"The Joker happened." His eyes narrowed as the name of his nemesis slid off his tongue.

"I didn't know that Harley was out of Arkham." She turned her gaze to the direction the ambulance had gone before turning back to Batman. "Do you think she'll be ok?" Xelia wondered for a moment if Batman even heard her whisper the question.

"Harley will be fine, she's survived worse than this; she lives with The Joker, after all." Blunt as his statement was, it did make Xelia feel a little bit better, but not by much. She'd recently been so caught up in her new job, her personal life, and The Riddler, that she didn't even know Harley had gotten out of Arkham.

She mentally groaned. The Riddler. What was she going to do about him? Here she was, standing in front of the one man that could return her life to normal, and she had to debate on telling him or not. What was wrong with her?

I know what you're saying "BUT ICEE, 'MAD LOVE's IN THE *4TH* SEASON, WHEN TIM DRAKE IS ROBIN, NOT DICK GREYSON, AND THE JOKER LOOKS DIFFERENT, AND EDDIE'S SUPPOSED TO BE BALD (seriously… wtf…) AND BLAH BLAH BLAAAAAH!" Yes, I KNOW that I'm distorting the Batman timeline, ruining life as we know it, but since I'm a writer I can do that.

Soooo, yeah, I ALWAYS figured that since Harley gets hurt in Mad Love, she'd be in Arkham long enough for them to declare her sane, and then Harley's Holiday would actually happen AFTER that…. Anyone following this? Lol

Any whose, there's much more to come.

Your Obedient Servant,

Icee*


	14. Two Minds Are Better Than One

Two Minds are Better than One

Xelia looked down at her feet, trying to figure out what was wrong with her. Here she was standing before Batman, the one person who could get her life back to normal, and she was debating on telling him or not. She rubbed her arm, feeling awkward, as a war raged in the back of her mind.

"I..." Just say 'I need your help', and everything will be ok, "I hope you're right." Stupid, stupid... Xelia couldn't help but grit her teeth as she dodged her own question. Batman remained silent, surprise surprise, as he looked down at Xelia, evaluating her like a criminal; for all Xelia knew, he might actually see her as a criminal.

"Be sure to keep yourself out of trouble." He said darkly, before grappling off into the night sky, seemingly taking all of Xelia's sanity with him. She quickly made a bee line to her vehicle, where she proceed to yell choice words to herself, just as she did the day she found out where she'd be working.

Why would she want to keep The Riddler out of Arkham? What would she gain? Xelia quickly started her car, turning on the heater, before proceeding to rub her hands in front of the not-yet-warm air vents. Nibbling on her lower lip, Xelia kept questioning herself relentlessly. She blinked slowly as an odd question formed in her mind; could she, Xelia Moore, have...feelings for Edward Nygma? One of Gotham's feared enemies? A man who's stolen from, terrorized, and killed innocent people? Was her own feelings stopping her from sending him back to Arkham?... What was she thinking?

Xelia began driving, her mind fearing to ask one particular question; was she turning into Harley Quinn? Xelia knew for certain that she was nowhere close to being infatuated with The Riddler. Heck, she wasn't even one hundred percent sure if she had feelings for the riddle loving villain; maybe she was a humanitarian and just wanted to see him rehabilitated. It was easy to say, that there was a small crowd of people who, everyone a rogue enters Arkham, they wish for them to emerge a civilized person of society. Xelia was quite certain that once The Riddler was apprehended, her life would finally return to normal; whatever "normal" was for her. She hoped that between now and the time he's caught, she wouldn't see him again; a hope that she knew was in vain.

"I'll never let myself end up like Harley." Xelia quietly vowed to herself as she became illuminated by the now red light. The rest of the ride to her apartment was spent in silence as she focused her mind on driving and other things.

"Hey!"

"Shouldn't you be asleep?" Xelia asked as she closed the apartment door behind her, inwardly cringing at how loud the television was.

"Normally, I would be, but I have tomorrow off, and there's a marathon on that I wanted to see." Xelia glanced over at said marathon only roll her eyes at the supposed "reality" show that was on; it was a horde of over emotional girls and their so-called "daily" lives, and the hard tasks being incredibly rich.

"You stayed up to watch that?" She asked, as if her best friend had committed a crime. Naomi just rolled her eyes at Xelia's dislike for the show; to each his own, she supposed.

"Yes, I stayed up to watch it." Naomi stated proudly as Xelia drudged onwards down the hall.

"I'm going to bed," she stated bluntly, "g'night." Xelia didn't wait for a reply before shutting the door and collapsing onto her bed, a heavy sigh leaving her lips. She couldn't believe the night she'd had; poor Harley... Poor Xelia! Unable to even sort out her own emotions.

On another side of Gotham Edward Nygma's night was just beginning. A wide array of tools, electronic items mostly, sat on a table before him. Alongside him was someone he always tried his best to avoid, but given the circumstances he'd make an acceptation; Jervis Tetch, once a brilliant scientist, whose mind now was too far consumed with idiotic thoughts of Wonderland to even focus on other things it seemed. Eddie preferred facts, puzzles, and logical thinking, while Jervis used his imagination, delusional thoughts, and obsession with Wonderland to fuel his mind. The two did share some similar characteristics though, such as their impressive computer knowledge, compulsions, and lives of crime.

"Edward, I- I must say, I was quite surprised when you called upon me. I brought everything you asked for." Jervis said, timid at the slightly more intimidating rogue. True, Eddie and Jervis were both lower on the "rogue totem pole", as they were nothing compared to The Joker, but Eddie always seemed to be more of a threat than Jervis would ever be; Eddie even outsmarted Batman on their first encounter, escaping in his private jet, before Batman even had a chance at apprehending him. Although it was unspoken, Eddie had earned some respect with that feat.

"I knew you had the experience to help me with this project." Eddie smirked as he began to hook up some computer chips to his laptop.

"Well, I'm just not sure what I could help you with; I've never worked with virtual reality, just mind control chips." Jervis said, frowning behind his large teeth. Eddie was inwardly disgusted by Jervis' comical appearance, his large teeth bucked out of his lips, the garish costume he wore, and his mop like hair hanging down in his face; at least Eddie had a classy costume, and handsome features to go along with it.

"True, but you have the skills to make the virtual reality device smaller, while I have the brains to do all the remote programming to where I can control what the person sees from the comforts of my home." Eddie said as he gestured around the room at his slightly-bigger-than-last office.

"Ah, well, I suppose that's true." Jervis said as he took a few parts and began to put them together, while Eddie was tweaking the virtual chip. The two men kept to themselves, Jervis working on the hardware, while Eddie worked on the software; it was almost a macabre scene to see two enemies of Gotham's public, working together on one twisted goal

So, before anyone starts yelling at me for calling Jervis ugly, I was speaking from Eddie's POV and EVERYONE knows Eddie's THE most handsome man ever… Riiight.

I wanted to bring Jervy back into the story for a while now, and I've finally found an excuse to.*

I hope he's in character; we never really got to see him interact with the other rogues, especially not Eddie. Tell me how you feel about the situation, do you think Eddie and Jervis would get along? I think since they both have a background with technology, Jervis being a scientist thing, and Eddie being a computer nerd, that they'd be ok with each other (with a few disagreements along the way, of course)

Well kids, I've got a plane to catch!... no really… they're taking it out of the hangar right now, lol.


	15. Why Is A Raven

Why is a Raven like a writing desk?

"Then he ate the thing whole!" Leon couldn't help but make a sound of disgust as he envisioned the story.

"Aw, that's gross." He said as he fished around in his jacket for a cigarette.

"I won't lie, watching my boss swallow a sardine whole," Xelia said laughing a bit, "it was pretty gross." Leon took a long drag from his cigarette, making sure to exhale the smoke away from Xelia, before turning back to her.

"I can't believe that you work for The Penguin! That's nuts." Xelia just chuckled uneasily for a moment. It had taken her quite a while before deciding, with a little pestering from Leon, to admit where she worked. She knew that of she tried to hide it, it would probably sound suspicious. It's not like Mr. Cobblepot didn't employ normal people, aside that the business was technically legitimate.

"Yeah, well he's retired now. I don't see him a lot, just every now and then he'll come out from his office in the back." Xelia lied, knowing good and well her boss was far from being a clean, outstanding, citizen.

"So, have you seen any bad guys there yet?" Leon asked with a morbid fascination; most teenagers in Gotham had an odd curiosity with the villains that ran amuck, normally they felt a connection through being a social outcast.

"No," Xelia said, quick to answer "there were rumors that The Joker was there one night, but our waitresses are just gossip girls; they're all talk." Leon raised a brow, not quite sure how he felt about his new found friend being in the same building as The Clown Prince of Crime. "But no worries, The Joker's back in Arkham now." Xelia said, more to herself than to Leon.

"Yeah, but there's still more wackos out there." He added as he snuffed out his cigarette. Xelia just nodded, knowing all too well what lurks in Gotham city. She shivered from both the cold air in the open hallway, and the thought of the rogues remaining at large; a certain green clad one in particular.

"Well, I've got to get back inside, a long hot shower is calling my name." Xelia chuckled as Leon just shrugged his shoulders.

"What's the deal with women and showers?" He asked as Xelia began to make her way towards her door, pausing as she reached the handle.

"It's relaxing, it's warm, and it makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside." Xelia said sarcastically as she waved goodbye to Leon, closing the door behind her. She was going to take a shower then grab some applications from the salons and spas she had spoken with the other day; she could finally go back to doing what she loved to do, and spent a good deal of money on schooling for. She hadn't been too fond of her schedule recently, she was working late nights, and sleeping during the day.

"Hey, I'm going to head out and grab some applications. Wanna tag along?" Xelia called out to her groggy friend, who was still currently residing on the couch. Naomi stifled a yawn and nodded her head.

"Sure, I'll go get dressed." Naomi said she pushed aside the nest of blankets she'd hoarded on the couch.

"Let me hop in the shower and I'll be ready in a bit." Xelia answered back from down the hall.

"For the last time, Tetch, that's not even a real riddle!" It was always the same argument; Jervis would ask the famous "why is a raven like a writing desk?" riddle, Eddie would throw a fit, and an awkward silence always ensued. Eddie gritted his teeth as he went back to staring at his laptop, while Jervis quietly resumed on making the virtual reality device. Jervis was curious as to why Eddie would want to fashion the device into a small women's headband size, but he knew better than to ask the red head about it.

Eddie tapped a pen to his chin as he thought about the best way of going about this. He'd have to find a way to alter the program to where only he could control the virtual world; he'd made a grave mistake last time of linking Batman's virtual reality device straight to the computer, thus resulting in Batman being able to control the world around him. This time, Eddie will be the one who calls all the shots; he'll be all powerful in his world. He scribbled down a few things and proceeded to see if that did the trick.

"Edward, would you perhaps like some tea? I've brought my own." Only Jervis would carry around his own tea. Eddie peeled his eyes from his notepad looked at Jervis, who was holding some tea bags in his palm.

"No, thank you, Jervis. I'd like to finish this with no more distractions." Eddie said, insinuating towards Jervis' silly riddle distraction from earlier. Eddie often prided himself on being able to stay focused on a certain subject for long periods of time, and right now he wanted to finish editing the software.

Harley sighed as she lied there in her Arkham bed. She painfully turned her head to the side and smiled happily at the rose by her bedside. She knew it was dumb to even consider going back to The Joker, but it wad obvious to her that he still cared for her and was sorry; the rose proved it, right? She supposed that that was why she'd been declared mentally insane. She said otherwise, of course, but to some degree she could understand why it wasn't normal to put yourself back in harm's way, willingly. She couldn't help herself though, she was mad, literally, for The Clown Prince of Crime.

"I can only imagine what Red'll have ta say."

What DID Ivy say after Harley almost got dead? I'll have to think of how Ivy will react to that, and maybe I'll slip it in the next chapter. I'm sure it'll be an adventure!

Poor Harley… Don't worry though I still have a place for her in my story I have big plans for her.

Also, Eddie's scheme will come forwards soon!

What will that dastardly (I love that word) villain do!

Thank you! Come again!


	16. Mail Call

Mail call

Xelia practically danced into the living room; she was officially a hair stylist once more. Gaston, of Gaston's hair salon, was thrilled when he saw Xelia's hair. It was a bit awkward though, as he began to run his hands through her hair, commenting on which colors was his favorites; Xelia had to keep her composure, clenching her teeth to stop herself from fleeing away from his hands. Gaston was a bit of a theatrical man, but to each his own; he was a friendly and out going person. Xelia was so relieved, but there was a twinge of regret as well. More than likely, she'd have to quit her job at The Iceberg Lounge, which made her feel bad. Mr. Cobblepot had done a lot for her as a boss, seeing to it that she was comfortable in her work environment. Xelia figured that she could try to juggle the two jobs for a while as she tried to figure out her personal schedule.

As she opened the door to her apartment she took in the all to familiar smell of Leon's smoking. She had to wonder how much that kid smoked, he always seemed to be in the hallway, filling the air with the fowl scent. It had finally started snowing in Gotham, much to Xelia's delight. The snow was always so beautiful, despite it being a pain in the rear to drive in and get around in.

"Do you even live in there?" Xelia jokingly asked Leon, gesturing to his apartment door. He just smiled and shrugged.

"I sleep in there, if that's what you mean." He said as the rainbow headed girl happily bounced past him. She had been in a much better mood recently; the news announced that Harley was doing well, and was in the Arkham infirmary with some broken bones. Xelia knew that she was a tough girl, she had to be; she lived with The Joker. She could survive a few broken bones, as Xelia was sure she had already done sometime in her life before. She made her way into the front office area of her complex, waving to the grumpy secretary as she went over to her mailbox. It was a rare thing for Xelia to get a package, but not unheard of. Not thinking too much of it, she withdrew the brown wrapped parcel along with the rest of her mail. Usually the package turned out to be a random "care package" from her mother; normally containing some money, a letter, and some random knickknacks.

Xelia waved good-bye to the grumpy office lady as she went back to her apartment. Leon had disappeared, as to where Xelia didn't know, but his cigarette scent still lingered in the hall. She sighed as she entered her apartment, missing how Naomi and her used to be on the same schedule, and would be home together. She knew that Naomi felt the same way though, and the two girls tried their best to not let their work schedules in the way of their friendship. Xelia turned on her television before she began to open up her parcel, gasping at the contents inside.

The light from the computer illuminated The Riddler's smug grin as he looked over his laptop. Eddie and Jervis had worked late into the recent nights and finally it had all paid off; his virtual reality program and remote device were ready. The device was cleverly disguised as a women's headband, embellished with some pearls and lace, and other things Eddie assumed girls liked. He'd felt rather foolish adding the frills and lace to an extremely complex and high tech device, but he supposed it would all be worth it. It would be rather simple to plant it into the girl's bathroom, she'd just assume that it was her brunette headed roommates'. Eddie would be alerted once the device had been activated, placing the rainbow headed girl into his world. He steepled his fingers and leaned back in his green leather chair, pleased with himself. He could hardly wait for her to land in his own personal world, he had some big plans in store for her. He'd devised some impressive puzzles and near-death traps for her; of course, Eddie wasn't going to hurt Xelia. He would just wait around till the right time, swoop in, play hero, and save her... For a price.

"Freakin' awesome." Naomi said as she looked over the items Xelia's mom had packed for the two girls. Xelia threw some chocolate candies in her mouth and nodded. Her mother hand sent her and Naomi an assortment of candies, snacks, miscellaneous coupons, and a ten dollar movie theater voucher. Naomi had snatched up most of the candy already, not that Xelia minded; she preferred to have only small amounts of sugar a day.

"Yeah, I didn't even know my mom was going to send me anything." Xelia said as she opened a bag of crackers.

"Let's just hope she sends more stuff soon." Naomi said as she stretched out on the floor, candy cradled in her arms.

"Yeah," Xelia agreed as she joined her friend on the floor, "let's hope."

Raise your hand if I fooled you into thinking it was the mind control device in the mail!

I wanted to add some random suspense, sooo yeah. Ok, so Xelia's a hair dresser once more, Eddie's a nerd, and Naomi likes sugar! I smell a sitcom! (lol, not really)

We'll be getting into the virtual world soon, and that'll be a lot of fun to write.

Chaio for now!


	17. Presents from strangers

Presents from strangers, always present dangers

Xelia couldn't help but watch with mild amusement, as Naomi darted back and forth around the apartment; all the while, complaining about this and that. Normally, Naomi wouldn't flip out this much before a date, but since her boyfriend's parents would be joining them tonight, Xelia supposed she had a legitimate reason. First, Naomi couldn't decide what color of dress to wear, and then she found a small run in her hose. After searching vigorously for another pair of hose, she decided to go hose-less, and now she's back to trying to find a decent pair of hose; just one of the joys to being female.

"Please tell me you have a pair of black hose." Naomi called out desperately from her bedroom, while Xelia just chuckled away in the living room.

"If I do have any, they'd be somewhere in one of my drawers. Best of luck to you." It was no secret that Xelia's drawers and closet was practically a war zone. Clothes thrown haphazardly in the drawers, littered with anything from notebooks to receipts; it was a mess. She could hear Naomi groan as she trudged into Xelia's room, obviously not happy with having to explore Xelia's messy habitat. "Try the top one." The rainbow headed girl suggested, not looking away from the television.

Naomi made a face as she passed by Algeron, Xelia's small hamster, happily running away on his wheel, oblivious to Naomi's dislike of him. She wasn't a fan of the little creature, but she accepted him since Xelia loved him 'oh so much'. She pulled out the top drawer slowly, just in case some sort of creature made its home in there, and peered inside. Socks, shirts, a fork, note cards, and finally, after a vigorous search, hose.

"Oh, Xe, you're a lifesaver." Naomi called out, as she swiftly pulled the hose on, stumbling as she attempted to pull her heels back on. She groaned and ran into the living room as she heard a knock on the door. "Coming!" She called as she stopped to look at herself in Xelia's mirror, patting at her hair to get it perfect.

"You look fine, just go." Xelia laughed as Naomi did a turn in front of the mirror. In return, Naomi stuck her tongue out at her friend and answered the door, hugging a patiently waiting Dustin. He was more than used to waiting for Naomi when she was getting dressed.

As soon as the door shut, Xelia's false smile fell from her lips as she looked around at her apartment. It was no fun to be alone; true she wasn't alone per se, but she did lack the romantic partner Naomi had. Xelia would never see herself as one of "those girls", who "needed" a guy at their heels to make them happy, but a guy companion never hurt. She put on her scarf and jacket, in hopes Leon would be outside, as he usually was. A cold wind met her, instead of Leon, as soon as she stepped out the door. After looking both ways down the hallway, an older couple passed by on their way out, giving her an odd look for just standing outside her door. Xelia blushed and ducked her head down, heading towards the main office area to check her mail; at least it would kill a few minutes of her time.

"Er, why'd ya put it in the mailbox, boss?" Edward Nygma sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He hated to be questioned, but most lf all he hated being questioned by his own incompetent men.

"Because," Eddie spoke slowly, not that it made a difference to the thug before him; even if Eddie wrote him a five page essay on why he did what he did, the man would still be an idiot.

"The girl is home, therefore it would be harder for us to sneak it in ourselves." He rolled his eyes as the thug just stood there. Obviously, Eddie's intellect was much too great for him to understand, that's how it always was; it was hard to be a genius surrounded by morons. "Besides," he added as he looked to his computer, "I've got to keep an eye out here for when she puts on the device." He smirked to himself, proud of the elaborate plan that only someone like him could pull off.

Xelia was once more surprised as she reached into her mailbox and pulled out a package. Her mother must have forgotten something; it wouldn't have been the first time. Her mother meant well, even if she was a tad scatter-brained. Xelia didn't bother to wave to the grumpy office woman today, just telling her to have a good day on the way out sufficed. She high-tailed it back to her door, still keeping an eye, and nose, out for Leon or his smoke. She let out a short sigh as she opened her door, a little bummed out that Leon wasn't around to pass the time with her. She enjoyed his company, as odd as he was, he was a nice guy. She couldn't picture herself having a romantic relation with him, not in the near future anyways, even if he might think otherwise.

Without hesitation, she took her coat and scarf off and proceeded to open the package. Inside was a pretty headband adorned with some pearls and lace, it wasn't very fancy per se, but it was pretty. She made a mental note to thank her mother as took her headband into her room, and stood in front of her mirror. She fiddled with her hair for a few minutes, getting it just right before she placed the headband on her head. It was oddly heavy, but Xelia just assumed it was all the stuff attached to it that awkwardly weighed it down a bit.

"Ah, what the-" Xelia screamed before falling to her knees. The device was giving out a mind numbing shock, making it impossible for her to think or even move. Her eyes grew distant and hollow as her mind was taken over. Her body, still kneeling on the floor, grew still and immobile. She was paralyzed. Psychically and mentally.

Eddie couldn't help but let out a jubilant chuckle as a window on his laptop began flashing, signifying that the device had been finally activated. He quickly ordered his men to leave him to his work, threatening anyone who dared disturb him; idiots, Eddie noted, would almost always understand threats.

"And now, my dear, you're mine." A dark laugh echoed throughout Eddie dark lair.

Peace out, home slices!

**Sorry, friends, I've been crazy busy... and writing other things. Oops.**


	18. Welcome to my world

Welcome to my world

The first thing Xelia noticed once she regained control of herself was that everything was a shade of red and black. She blinked a few times and gently rubbed her eyes, hoping that everything would be colored once more. It was all still red. Had she gone color blind? Had that shock from the headband ruined her vision?

Her heavy breathing quickly turned into panicked panting, as she put a hand to her chest. She couldn't breathe. A string of incoherent words fumbled from her lips as she fell to her knees. She'd never see the beautiful sky, colors of her hair, or even see what colors she'd be wearing; for all she could tell, she could be a whole assortment lf clashing colors.

"Oh, no, no, no, no. Please..." She looked down at her shaky pale pink hands as tears spilled from her eyes. The words 'color blind' kept ringing in her mind, not helping her panic attack.

Eddie just watched for a few moments as Xelia had a mental breakdown; this was certainly unexpected. Sure, he figured she'd be scared, mad, and upset, but not this. It was mostly curiosity, mixed with a hint of regret, that Eddie felt as he looked at the sobbing girl.

"My, my," Xelia gasped and looked up. She heard The Riddler's voice, but didn't see him, nor could she quite pin point where exactly his voice had come from. "Aren't we in a mess?" Xelia gasped once more as she raised her tear filled eyes to see a red Riddler, towering stories above her. He was enormous, at least twenty feet tall. Was this a dream? Or, nightmare, rather?

"What's going on? What have you done to me?" Xelia's voice cracked as she tried to think of any reason why The Riddler would ruin her vision. He quirked a brow at her, as if he wasn't quite sure what she meant by her words, but his triumphant smirk never faded.

"You, my dear, are in my virtual world." Eddie beamed as he motioned to his domain with his hands. Xelia looked around for the first time, noticing that she wasn't even in her apartment, but on a hill overlooking what could only be described as a large kingdom. Hedge mazes, checkered pathways, various puzzle looking landscapes, and a large castle sat in the middle. It vaguely reminded Xelia of a book she'd once read, about a young girl who had to beat a Goblin King's maze to win her brother back. Xelia had no brother, nor was there a reason for her to go forth through the maze; aside from the sick enjoyment of The Riddler.

"Virtual world? So," Xelia called out slowly, as she calmed her breathing, "I'm... I'm not color blind?" The larger than life Riddler just looked at her, confused as to why she was more worried about her petty sight, and not his massive puzzle kingdom.

"No, you're not color blind. I do believe you have more things to worry about than your silly sight though." He said, crossing his arms. Xelia just placed a hand to her head, relieved that it wasn't her eyes that were to blame, but a computer generated image. "Welcome to my own personal world. As you can see from the design, I had a little help from Jervis Tetch, or the Mad Hatter, if you will. Since he had a hand in helping me with the virtual device you put on, it was only fair for me to repay him by having his own little place in my world." Xelia tiled her head to the side, trying to digest all of he was saying. "In this world you'll find all sorts of puzzles and traps all around. It's up to you to solve them, and work your way to the castle, where the way out is."

Xelia pursed her lips as she looked down at her feet for a few moments, scared of the question she knew she must ask.

"What... What happens if I fail?" Her voice was a bit shaky, as was her nerves, knowing that nothing good could come from failing when The Riddler's concerned.

"Anything that happens in this world happens in the real world." He let that statement hang in the air for a few moments, making Xelia inwardly shiver a bit.

"So, if I were to die in here..." Xelia couldn't finish that sentence, as she already knew the awful answer.

"Then you would die in reality." Eddie easily answered, "I don't intend to let you die though, that would just ruin all my fun." Xelia just stared up at him, not even knowing where to begin with how morally wrong that was; not that Edward Nygma was concerned with morals. "You'll have three 'lives', if you will. When you get stuck, or simply can't finish a puzzle, then you'll be able to skip over it, provided it will take a 'life'." It sounded fair enough, three chances. What didn't sound fair was what would happen after those lives were gone. Would The Riddler simply let Xelia die? She supposed that, if it came down to it, she could always use her "feminine charm" on him; his ego would more than likely take over his mind.

"Fine, I'll run your dumb maze, but after this I want you out of my life." Xelia said narrowing her eyes at the man who had turned her life upside down. He just laughed a bit at her before he began to dissolve into thin air.

"You, my dear girl, are in no position to make demands." His voice called out before Xelia was left to herself. She mocked him, knowing good and well he was still watching and listening to her, as she descended that hill down into the yawning mouth of the labyrinth's opening.

It was eerily quiet, no birds chirping, nor was there any winds blowing in the digital trees. Xelia supposed that it would just be a waste to add such trivial things; The Riddler's goal wasn't to create another world like their own, but rather the opposite. He wanted a world that bended to his every whim, and that was what frightened Xelia the most. She tried her best to take mental notes of her surroundings, not that they would be of much help; everything was literally the same. It was extremely frustrating to be in a "copy and pasted" universe.

"I swear," Xelia muttered under her breath, "as soon as I get to that castle, I'm going to burn it down."

MUAHAHAHA! Another cliff hanger! I r ebill!

Yeah, so I figured that if someone didn't know that they were in a computer world, they'd be like, "WTF! EVERYTHING'S RED! MY EYES! MY EYES!" Yeah, so that was Xelia's first reaction.

Labyrinth reference, OMGWTGBBQ!1! I personally am not a fan of making pop-culture references (in case you couldn't tell) but I decided what the heck, I'll throw it in there.

In other news, I really want to have some "real romance" in this story, but Im always held back because of OOC fears. What are your opinions on it?

Let's Rock'n'roll!


	19. Checkered woes

Checkered Woes

Checkered tiles, checkered tiles, and more checkered tiles; all this red and black was starting to give Xelia a headache. Every few minutes she'd take a random turn, in hopes that it would lead her towards the castle. The walls of the maze were massively tall, and consequently blocked all views of the castle; a Riddler's touch no doubt, in case Xelia tried "cheating". She snorted as she imagined his smug voice telling her how he had "cheat proofed" this world. Oddly enough, he had remained quiet and out of sight so far, not that Xelia really minded too much; it frightened her almost though. Was he still here? What if he returned to the real world? Would she be left here to die? No, he wasn't planning on killing her, just using her as amusement.

Xelia bit her bottom lip as a new, extremely uncomfortable thought came up; what if he eventually found a new source of entertainment? If that was the case, he would leave Xelia alone, that was good... So why was she not happy about that? She looked down to the floor, ignoring the dizzying feeling of watching the checkered floors below her, trying to convince herself that that would be a good thing. The Riddler has invested a good amount of time and effort into her, so he wouldn't just put that all to waste, right? Was she the first girl to capture his attention? That would be rather flattering. How exactly had she done it, anyways? All she did was get rescued by Batman. What was so special about her? Secretly, Xelia hoped that she was special; who didn't want to feel special? She wasn't sure how she gained The Riddler's attention, but at this point, she supposed it didn't really matter. What mattered was getting out of this place.

Xelia had to place all her thoughts on a mental back burner, as she came to an intersection of pathways. One of the pathways had all red tiles, the other had all white, and the last one was made up of all black tiles. She carefully eyed them, not sure which path she was meant to take. Usually, white stood for purity, or "good", while black was usually reserved as a "bad" color; knowing The Riddler though, the true meaning wouldn't be that simple. After a quick game of "Eenie-meenie-miney-mo", Xelia was on her way down the black pathway.

She attempted to just clear her mind of thoughts of her feelings, and focus on getting the heck out of this place. Xelia practically jumped out of her skin as a buzzer sliced through the silence. She jumped once more as two walls shot up, blocking the way she came and the path ahead of her. She looked down to see that some of the tiles surrounding the one she was stepping on had turned white. She took a cautious experimental step onto another tile, noticing it made the same sound, and more tiles turned white.

"I see you've finally made it to your first puzzle. It took you a while; I was starting to lose hope." Annoying, yet comforting, was The Riddler's voice to Xelia. At least he didn't just up and leave her. She looked up to see him casually watching her over his steepled fingers, awaiting her next move.

"So, am I supposed to make them all white, or..." Xelia stepped on another one, noticing some of the tiles she'd previously turned white, change back to black. She tilted her head a bit at the tiles, and then turned back to The Riddler.

"Riddle me this," he frowned when a loud sigh escaped Xelia's lips, "An 'x' doesn't mark this spot, but rather it marks the end, before your answer." He casually looked at his nails; or rather he would if his gloves weren't on, as he awaited Xelia's answer.

She thought about it for a few moments, before the mental light bulb over her head lit up.

"So, I'm supposed to step on the right tiles until it reveals a question mark." Xelia began stepping on the tiles, making mental notes of the one's she'd already stepped on and which turned what colors. She followed along the wall, and mapped out the perimeter of the puzzle; 6 squares by 10 squares.

Eddie just watched, not as amused as he thought he would have been; Batman was a lot more fun to watch, but then again, the level of difficulty was much higher then, along with the danger levels. The girl was of average intelligence, so the puzzles were duller and a bit easier than he would have liked them to be. He wasn't out to prove his wits against the girl; it wasn't a secret he was smarter, it was just a way to amuse him. Eddie could honestly say that while it would be a challenge, it would also be quite annoying if "his girl" was of equal intelligence. His riddles, puzzles, and such would just be a waste if the person could figure it out in a few simple seconds. It was much more fun to stump people; for him anyways. That was one of the reasons Eddie liked the girl; she was average. She wasn't over the top, she wasn't a competing rogue, and she wasn't a crazy "let me rehabilitate you" humanitarian. Eddie could imagine her looking to him for answers to things, with adoring eyes, and a cute little smile; what girl doesn't just love a man with brains?

"If it's too much of a challenge for you, you can just give up." He taunted from above as Xelia hopped around from tile to tile.

"Yeah, you'd like that wouldn't you." She said under her breath, as she continued to memorize the pattern. She almost felt bad for The Riddler, as she was sure he was used to Batman flying through his riddles. She wasn't the most brilliant person, by all means, but she was quite happy with her intelligence; she had a few "blonde moments" every now and then. She made a few final leaps to the next tiles over, and was now standing proudly in the middle of a red question mark, watching the wall ahead of her fall back into the floor. She turned a triumphant smile up to The Riddler before continuing down the pathway, ending up in a beautiful, lavish garden.

So, honestly, I'm not sure how Eddie would react to a smart girl :P I mean, I'm sure he'd like her, but I think personally he'd prefer someone who "depends on him"; besides, if the girl was SO smart, she'd just leave him anyways LOL!

That's just my thinking though, and since I'm NOT Eddie, myself, I can't exactly speak on his behalf.

Tell me your thoughts on the whole "smart girl" subject. Do you personally think it works, or not?

Over and Out


	20. Fragile Minds

Fragile Minds

Hazel eyes stared out at nothing, as their owner lied motionless on the floor; save for a few occasional twitching of her fingers that remained clutching at her head. If someone were to come in they'd think the poor girl was in a coma; in a way, she was. The pretty headband she'd put on had actually been some sort of remote device, built to send her to the virtual world; compliments of Edward Nygma.

All estimates of time had fled from Xelia, as she had no idea whether she'd been in this world for minutes or hours. She pressed onwards, making her way through the computer generated garden, eager to get out of this crazy world. Her heart pounded as she anticipated what the next puzzle would be. Will she be able to beat it? Would she have to surrender one of her "lives'? How exactly did that whole life thing work, anyways? For a world based around conundrums, logic, and puzzles, this place was more than illogical; as was the reasons she was here.

Once more, The Riddler had disappeared and hadn't been seen since Xelia finished her first puzzle. It was a rather bitter-sweet feeling. Sure, she was proud of herself for beating the puzzle, and yet knowing that it was a dumbed down version did nothing for her pride. She felt as though she was going in circles, as she passed up similar looking flower beds; becoming more and more frustrated with this copy-and-paste scenery. She did, however, find it mildly amusing to see that, as she walked through a corridor of hedges, some of them were shaped into question marks. The amusement was short lived as, once more, a wall shot up and blocked her way back out. As opposed to the last time though, it was only a wall behind her, leaving the "hall" ahead open. She looked around, trying to identify the puzzle that she was supposed to solve at this point, mentally shrugging when she didn't see anything obvious.

Xelia began to walk forwards when suddenly, the walls ahead of her quickly collided in the middle of the corridor with one another; meeting one another within a few inches of her nose. The sounds echoed, as further down, more walls began colliding with one another. It took her a few moments to even register that she nearly took her last steps, and leaned up against one of the non-moving walls to steady herself.

"I'd watch my step if I were you," Eddie's voice happily announced, before dropping into a threatening tone, "it could easily be your last." Scare tactics, that all it was. Xelia tried to remind herself that she wasn't here to die, but the solid sounds the walls made, begged to differ. She'd seen obstacles like this all the time in video games and movies, but she certainly never gave two thoughts about how hard it would be for her herself to get through. All along the corridor the walls seemed to be going at different rates; none of which were a leisurely pace, by any means. She looked around helplessly, knowing that she'd never be able to make it; she was no Batman. She didn't even want to know what would happen if she didn't make it.

"What's wrong? Is it too difficult for you?" Xelia looked up so see a normal sized Eddie standing on the other side of the walls, teasing her with his smile. Xelia just gave him a defeated look, looking away when the walls blocked her view of him.

"I don't want to do this." She said in a quiet voice, looking back up at him, "I won't do this. I want to use one of my life-thingies, I don't care." Eddie looked put off by her plea, as he crossed his arms.

"My, my, how utterly boring; you didn't even try." He said, as if he really expected Xelia to sprint through his death-trap-of-a-hallway. He just stood, letting Xelia know that she truly was at his mercy at this moment, before sighing and drastically throwing his hands in the air. "Fine, I suppose I'll allow you to use one of your 'lives' on such a simple challenge." Xelia just looked down at her feet; he was just trying to rile her up by his insults.

Xelia gasped as he snapped his fingers, causing the world around them to literally shatter like a mirror. Fragments of the world she was just in now lied at her feet.

p

Lol, Xelia chickened out *insert Tommy Wiseau's chicken noise here (Cheep, cheep, cheep)*. So, Xelia decided to use of her "lives", that means she only has two left! And she's only to her second challenge! Dun dun DUUNNNN


	21. All Bark, No Bite

All Bark, No Bite

The fragments at Xelia's feet displayed images of the red-hued garden she'd come from along with scattered images of the moving walls deathtrap, which were still moving. Now standing before her was a carnival type setting, eerily similar to the abandoned boardwalk from a few years back, complete with her own carnival barker; Eddie. It was a fitting role for the man, as both The Riddler and all the carnival barkers Xelia had come across, were cocky. She could easily imagine him calling out to all the carnival goers, taunting them into playing his game, which would be secretly rigged, and mocking their failure. Xelia could only hope that the challenges she faced ahead wouldn't be rigged, or impossible to do.

"Hurry, hurry, step right up. Can you solve this challenge? Or will you just give up like last time?" Xelia chose to ignore that last bit, knowing that it would be pointless to argue otherwise; true, she did back out of the last one, but it's better to be safe, than dead. She approached the booth Eddie stood behind with caution, eyeing him as she crossed her arms.

"What do I have to do?" She asked, really not wanting to find out the answer. Who knew what would happen if she failed this one? Or if she completed it for that matter?

"It's quite simple really," Xelia scoffed. The Riddler never did anything involving the word 'simple'. "All you have to do is solve this." He tossed a small object over to Xelia, who clumsily caught it. Xelia was now holding a Rubik's cube, but instead of all the normal colors, it was replaced with various shades of red and grey. She raised her eyes back to Eddie, along with a brow, as he conjured up his own cube. "You have two minutes to solve it." He said as a floating timer appeared beside him, and as quickly as it appeared, it began to count down.

Xelia could easily openly admit that she didn't like Rubik's cubes. Twist the squares until you match all the same colors on each side. Give Xelia a permanent marker, and she'd be able to solve the puzzle as fast as she could color. In the past, a Rubik's cube could hold her attention for maybe thirty seconds tops, thus she'd never been able to actually finish one. She could vaguely remember kids in her school being able to finish them easily under twenty seconds, but she never cared enough to try it out herself. Her situation wasn't being helped any by The Riddler, who was making perfectly sure that Xelia could easily see him solving and un-solving his own cube multiple times in her peripheral vision. Yeah, that was helping.

Xelia just kept diligently turning and twisting the little cube's sides, this way and that way. Finally, she managed to solve the annoying thing, with some time to spare.

"Oh, good, you finally managed to finish. I do hope you took your time on purpose." Eddie stated smugly, as he, once again, finished his own with a flourish. She resisted rolling her eyes, and just let out a quiet sigh as she turned away from the booth, making a mental note that the castle seemed farther away from this area; a "punishment", no doubt, for using one of her "lives". A frown formed on her lips as she figured, the farther she had to go, the more challenges she'd have to face. "Standing there is getting you nowhere." Eddie said from behind her.

Xelia turned to reply, but stopped when she found that the booth was now empty.

"This whole world is getting me nowhere." Xelia whispered to herself and she, once more, set out for the castle.

I'm sure 2 mins is a waaaaaay to generous time to beat a Rubik's cube, but I honestly have NO idea how long it takes an average person to do one. I've never played with one, because I never actually cared. Nope, sorry, I never cared for them. So, we'll just close our eyes and pretend that it's all good, llol

Thank you, Come again.


	22. What's Behind Door Number 2

**Confession: While I was overjoyed to be able to upload these stories again, I was pretty bummed because the BTAS fandom was pretty dead compared to what it used to be. I'm just glad that they're still people who remember and still actively enjoy this story. It motivates me to keep going and I'm still crossing my fingers for some kind of BTAS renaissance, to where there's more stories and stuff out there. :') I'm all gross and sentimental atm lol. Forgive me, onwards with the story! **

What's Behind Door Number 2?

Xelia had taken up humming to herself, unable to deal with the silence that encased this world. She quietly hummed as she navigated her way through carnival rides, and various booths. Xelia had a growing dislike for carnivals as she recalled how frightened she was back on the abandoned Gotham Boardwalk, when all the rogues teamed up to take out Batman. Her nerves at that time most certainly weren't helped when she got gassed by Poison Ivy and the Scarecrow's toxins; the visions she had were so real. She shook her head, clearing the thoughts from her mind, as she reached the edge of the carnival. She was now looking at a forest's edge.

She stood at the edge for a few moments, imagining all the things that could possibly be lurking within its dark depths. Xelia was sure that the inside the forest wasn't exactly dark per-se, but the dark grey trees that it was made up of gave it that illusion. In reality, this world made no sense. First she was in a Wonderland, then a hedge maze, then a carnival, and now she was wandering into a forest. She honestly had no idea what tied these terrains together, aside from the fact that The Riddler willed it that way.

An amusing thought crossed her mind, as she wondered if Eddie ever used this technology himself; maybe, go on a virtual "vacation" to a beach, or something, in his spare time. Then again, he was The Riddler, and chances are he'd rather be robbing stores, or whatever it is he did, in his spare time. She'd long decided the less she knew about his personal life, the better.

Eddie rested his chin on his fist as he boredly watched his computer monitor. He'd flitted in and out of the virtual world, entering back into it only when it was necessary, such as to explain a puzzle or such. He wasn't per-se bored by the girl herself, it was rather amusing to have her in "his world", but she certainly wasn't as fun as Batman; not that he expected her to be, but it would have been more fun. Eddie leaned back, his green leather chair squeaking as he shifted, and watched the whistling girl making her way through his forest. A grin spread across his lips as his eyes lit up at the girl's location. Should Xelia keep heading the direction she was, she'd end up at one of the biggest crossroads in "his world". The Wonderland world, carnival world, and such, were only a few of the worlds that Eddie had created. He'd designed multiple worlds, all of which had the castle in them, as well as multiple entrance points from world-to-world. He casually picked up an emerald from his desk, casually throwing it up and catching it a few times. He loved the feeling of the nearly-priceless gem in his hand; just as he loved the feeling of having a life in the palm of his hand.

Xelia sighed; she was beginning to run out of TV show theme songs to hum. Luckily, for her, the trees varied from types. As opposed to before, it wasn't just a "copy-and-paste" forest, made up of the same single tree. It helped Xelia's sense of direction, as well as what little sanity she had remaining in this world. One bad thing about the forest though, was the fact that the tree tops blocked out all views of the castle. Xelia liked to pretend that she was heading in the right direction though.

She squinted her eyes as she spotted what looked like an opening up ahead of her; the odd coloring of the world made it a bit difficult to decipher what was what. She quickened her pace as she kept her eyes trained up ahead of her, hoping that she'd found a way into the castle or something just as good. The trees began to thin as she stopped on the edge of the forest's cover, looking around curiously.

The clearing was rather small, and circular, enclosed by tightly lined trees. She raised her brow at what also lined the clearing. Four different doors, connected to no buildings, stood defying gravity. Not that gravity or any other rules really applied to this mad world, but it was certainly a curious sight. None of them varied physically, as far as Xelia could tell they were all the same. What she was sure made them different, was where they led to.

"Looks like you've finally yourself at a crossroads." Xelia was not fazed. She'd become oddly accustomed to Eddie's "Houdini act"; popping in and out. It did worry Xelia that he'd disappear for long periods of time. In the real world, he wouldn't leave her alone, in this world he wouldn't stick around. Men.

"These," Eddie continued to narrate, unseen, "are the Doors of Destiny." Xelia nearly laughed. Doors of Destiny? Surely, a man who is a self-proclaimed genius can come up with a better name than that. "All of them lead to different places. Perhaps, some will lead you closer to the castle, or perhaps, they'll lead you farther. The question is: which door will you choose?" The Riddler could easily become a game show host; he was already treating Xelia as if she was in one. The difference was, instead of a new car behind one of the doors, it could be some kind of death trap. She mulled over what he said, and carefully eyed each door.

"Wait," Xelia said, "what if I don't choose a door, and find my way from this point?" She could just barely make out the top turret of the castle through the break in the tree tops. She could just picture Eddie huffing at her question.

"Well, you could do that," He sounded annoyed that Xelia was attempting to bypass his hard work, "but it's quite a walk from here. For all you know, one of the doors lead straight into the castle." That was true, but then again, for all she knew, the one she chose may lead straight into a snake pit. To open a door, or to not open a door, that was the question.

"If I were to go through a door, then couldn't I just reopen it and go through another one if I choose?" Xelia was pretty sure that the answer would be 'no', but it was worth a try.

"That," He announced sourly, "would be cheating." Xelia inwardly flinched at his tone; it sounded like she struck a nerve. For someone who didn't play by the rules himself, he certainly liked to make sure everyone else does follow them; but, then again, he did have a few screws loose. She kept looking at each door, hoping that she could tap into some secret power she didn't know she had, and see what's on the other side.

"Do you have any suggestions?" Xelia asked, looking at the sky, not quite sure where she was supposed to look when addressing the invisible Eddie. Her question remained unanswered, as she assumed he went back to where-ever-it-was-he-went, leaving the choice all up to her. She took a deep breath and stepped up to the second door, letting her hand rest upon the door handle. "Please, Puzzle-World God, let this door lead someplace good."

Xelia didn't know it was possible in the virtual world, but the temperature around her dropped. It was chilly, dark, and frightening wherever it is she was. True to The Riddler's word, the door vanished as soon as Xelia stepped through it, leaving her stranded. She was now in a building, rather in a tiled hallway specifically. It looked as though she was in a hospital-type place, passing a gurney and a few misplaced medical charts. The hallway was short, opening into what looked to be the front desk area, where people would check-in; that is, if there were people in this world to check-in. The desk itself wasn't anything special, but what caught Xelia's eye was a large portrait behind the desk. A stern looking, grey haired, man stared down at all who looked at him. Curious, Xelia read the plaque beneath the portrait.

A gasp flew from her lips, as she back-peddled away from the desk, sliding down the wall as her back came in contact with its cold surface. Her eyes darted about the grey-and-red hued place, looking for a quick escape. She knew it was pointless; The Riddler would never install a quick way out. She bit her thumbnail, her breathing become unsteady and rapid, as the words she'd just read echoed in her mind.

"Our founder: Amadeus Arkham"

Oh, ho! Did I just do that? I think I did! How's that for a loop, lol.

Random reader: But, Icee, Eddie HATES Arkham!

Yes, I'm aware, random reader. Eddie does indeed hate Arkham, but I also believe that since he's a crazy-green-clad-man, he'd make someone else experience it as well. Make sense? No? Oh, well! Lol, yeah, so Xelia now in Arkham… OR IS SHE! *Dun dun DUN*

Also, in account for Eddie's "Houdini act", I can't really see him just constantly commenting on EVERY LITLE THING Xelia does, so I made him flit in and out. Besides, he can't risk being in the virtual world, and his henchmen rob him blind. (Lol, it'd be funny though)

Happy Trails!


	23. You're Never Alone

You're Never Alone

To say Xelia was scared would be like saying The Joker's a bit unstable. She was trapped in Arkham Asylum; true, it wasn't the real Arkham, but either way, this place was terrifying. As soon as she read the name on the plaque, the building seemed to grow much more menacing. She managed to gulp down another breath of air, her eyes closed as she tried to even out her breathing; she was beginning to become light headed as stars began to overcome her vision. The last thing she needed was to pass out in a virtual asylum.

Xelia didn't know if there were any virtual criminals or patients inside the building, but she didn't really want to find out either. All willingness to move had long since fled from her body, along with her thought process. Once her breathing came back to a semi-normal pace, she tried to stand up, only to collapse against the wall. She clutched at the wall, gnawing on her lip, as her tingling legs began to wake up. How she loathed the sensation one gets after a body part falls asleep. After she was able to stand on her feet, she helplessly looked towards the ceiling, frowning at the absent 'exit' signs one would normally find in buildings. Sure, it would have been a bit redundant for The Riddler to include those, but then again, it would also be just subtle enough for him; who really paid attention to those signs?

Xelia slowly began to walk away from the safety of the wall, resisting the urge to just stay where she was and cry. She walked down the only hallway, aside from the one she originally came from, trying to stay as close to the wall as possible. Should anyone, or anything, be in the hall with her, she could just try to blend in with the all; that's what she'd like to pretend anyways. She kept quiet, knowing that humming wouldn't help her nerves, and could possibly alert someone to her whereabouts. Abandoned medical supplies littered the hall, making her cringe. She couldn't identify half of them, but then again, she didn't really have the urge to; needles were bad enough.

As if out of spite, Xelia's mind began to recall at the low budget horror movies she'd seen featuring an abandoned asylum. Why did asylums have to be nightmare fuel? Weren't they supposed to be happy and inviting for all the mentally ill patients? She wasn't sure if this was truly what Arkham looked like, aside form medical litter, or what The Riddler perceived it as. She supposed that to a patient, it would look more foreboding.

Despite the fact that she had only ventured maybe twenty or so yards, it felt like a mile. She didn't want to be here. It was very tempting to use a "life", but Xelia feared that it may not remove her, but simply place her in another part of the asylum. She also didn't want to open her mouth, for fear of not being alone in here.

Eddie watched with a cruel smile as Xelia slowly shuffled down the hallway. He had mixed feelings about the asylum based maze she was in; it was almost taboo to include a place he hated so much, but he created it just as he saw it. Arkham Asylum was a dark, emotionless, pit. There was no place Eddie hated more.

"Arkham Asylum…" Eddie slowly drawled in a menacing voice. He ground his teeth as he grabbed a mug off of his desk. Unable to control his rage, he quickly hurled the mug at the wall, sending it's pieces, along with the pens it was holding, all over the floor. He clenched his fist tightly as he stared down at the mug's, now unoccupied, space on his desk. How he hated that place.

Everyone who was involved, worked at, or saw benefits of Arkham Asylum, should be thrown in the same dark cell as Eddie was, to rot. An asylum was for sick people. Eddie wasn't sick, he didn't belong there; he was a genius. He took a deep breath, taking a few moments to compose himself , before turning back to the screen. The girl hadn't made much progress in his maze. He was mildly surprised that she wasn't begging him to use a "life", but then again, he wouldn't have rushed to her aid this time. She was to feel the way he did when he was in Arkham; trapped. Besides, there wasn't any danger here really, it was just a maze with a few of his clever twists thrown in.

"What!" Eddie growled out as something began to interfere with his program. He began to enter all sorts of codes into his computer, his gloved fingers flying all over his keyboard. A fire blazed in his hazel eyes as a new challenge was issued. "He's here."

Xelia let out a quiet yawn, breaking the silence around her for a second, as she continued her trek down the hall. She'd passed a few intersecting hallways, but decided to just continue going straight for now. At ever intersection, she'd peek around the corners, ready to run of needed. The air around her was cold, heavy, and worst of all silent. The only sound was Xelia's footsteps echoing around her. Or, rather, they would have been if something down the hall hadn't began shuffling and grunting. Xelia quickly hurled herself against the wall, slapping a shaky hand to her mouth to keep quiet. She wasn't alone.

DID I MENTION THE FACT EDDIE DOESN'T LIKE ARKHAM! I did? Oh, ok then. LOL! I couldn't help but try to imagine what the mug he threw said, and I figured it would say "I hate Mondays" or something silly like that. What do you think the mug said?

As I said, I know that this is kind of rushed, but what do you think I am a writer or something?… Oh… wait

Adios Amigos!


	24. Are You Real?

Are You Real?

The urge to run around the hall like a chicken with it's head cut off was tempting. Sure, it wouldn't have been productive, but it would have shown the panic Xelia felt at that moment. Someone was moaning just down the hall, and in this place, it could be just about anything; a half-man-half-crocodile, demented gun wielding puppet, a man made of clay. Anything. Her heart was racing as she tried to become part of the well, with little success. The sounds weren't coming any closer, nor were they leaving; they were just staying in one spot.

What if The Riddler had kidnapped some else and put them in here with her? The grunts sounded like someone struggling with something. What if they needed help? What if they were hurt? Xelia's humanitarian side told her to check on whoever it might be, while her more selfish, reasonable side told her to just stick with helping herself. A nearly mute sigh escaped her lips as Xelia crept slowly towards the corner of the wall, trying not to make a sound or breath. She inched her way, taking a slow deep breath as she glanced around the corner.

Her heart skipped a beat as her eyes landed on none other than The Dark Knight. She watched, speechless and mildly confused, as Batman struggled with a straight jacket wrapped in a large heavy chain. Xelia took note of the multiple large pad-locks that secured said chain, making escape pretty much impossible. All that was left was one question.

"Are you real?" She whispered in a shaky voice. Batman turned his head towards her and looked her over. She couldn't see his emotions due to his mask, but as usual, his mouth was set in a hard line.

"Your friend called the police right after she found you on the floor. As soon as Commissioner Gordon heard what was going on he called me, knowing The Riddler was behind this." Batman explained, making Xelia wonder how the commissioner knew what happened. Had The Riddler used this technology before, and if so, on who? Xelia frowned as she came to realize that Naomi now knew that she was trapped. Her poor best friend must have been so frightened to see Xelia lying, unresponsive on the ground. She would bet money Naomi would have a few choice words for her when she gets back to reality.

"Can you get us out?" Xelia asked in a pleading tone. She felt like throwing herself at his feet and crying, but her dignity had it's limits.

"Oh, Batman, Batman, Batman. I'll admit, it was a unpleasant surprise when you showed up, but luckily, I had a back up plan ready. I'm also surprised that your little lackey, the commissioner, was able to comprehend what was happening, but I suppose he, of all people, would recognize when someone was in 'my world'." Eddie's voice echoed throughout the hallway. Batman's mouth fell into a deeps scowl as The Riddler appeared before their eyes, looking unfazed by his adversaries' appearance.

"Nygma," Batman growled as he struggled to break free of his bonds, "I see you've upgraded your virtual reality technology." Eddie's smile grew at Batman's bitter tone, as he just shrugged dramatically.

"Live and learn, Batman. I had made the mistake of allowing other users the ability to manipulate the world around them. Now, only I, The Riddler, have the ability to control this world, Dark Knight." Xelia was confused, but didn't say anything, as she tried to sort everything out. From what she could gather, Commissioner Gordon and Batman, had both been in the virtual world before, and were previously able to control it themselves. While Batman and The Riddler exchanged a few more worlds, Xelia began to stare at one of the walls, attempting to make a large hole in it. Nothing happened, aside from her looking like a moron for a few moments, but she supposed it was worth a try at least. Eddie cleared his throat, drawing her attention back to him.

"As you can see, our Caped Crusader here, is all tied up at the moment. There are six locks bounding our hero." Xelia flinched a bit as he spat out the last two words. "Your job, " He said, pointing his cane at her nose, "is to find the keys, which are hidden somewhere in the maze. There's a catch though, you see, there's only one key that will unlock the chain. The rest will trigger one of my elaborate traps." Eddie swelled with pride, obviously happy with his on-a-whim plan.

"I will stop you, Nygma." Eddie just crossed his arms, not seeing how the man on the floor was any threat to him. Batman just glared as Eddie stepped over him to reach Xelia, who became exceedingly uncomfortable as Eddie was now just inches from her.

"By the way, did you know," She felt her heart stop for a moment as he reached down and grabbed her left hand, more specifically, her ring finger, and held it up for her to see. "It was once thought that one's ring finger was directly connected to the heart? Think about it." He grinned cheekily as her pink face quickly became a dark shade of red. He disappeared, leaving a light hearted laugh in the air behind him, as well as a confused blushing Xelia.

"W-what do you suppose that meant?" She squeaked out, failing at trying to tame her blush.

"Don't flatter yourself." Ouch. After that statement, her blush quickly fled. " It's a clue to where the first key is." Batman said, confident in his ability to read The Riddler. Xelia mentally slapped herself. Of course it was a clue, what else would it have meant? "The right key will be in the medical facility section of the maze." Xelia felt a bit dumb at the moment, as she wasn't sure how he's arrived at that conclusion. She supposed that she shouldn't question it, as when 'The World's Greatest Detective' tells you something, you don't argue.

"So, how do I get there?" She asked, not sure if even he would know; it was a maze after all.

"Before I entered the virtual world myself, I took the liberty of downloading The Riddler's blueprints for the maze." Boy, he really is 'The World's Greatest Detective'. "Follow the hall behind me, take two lefts, then the second hall on the right."

"Two lefts, second right, ok. I think I've got it." Xelia prayed that her memory would, for once, prove itself to be reliable. "What will I be looking for? Er, I mean, besides a key, that is. I mean, do you have any idea where they key might be?" As Xelia stumbled over her words, she became more and more embarrassed.

"Yes, I'm in. The Riddler got to me though." Xelia just blinked, having not a clue what he was talking about.

"Um, come again?" Xelia asked slowly, quite confused.

"The Riddler trapped me as soon as I entered. Robin," Xelia felt like a complete moron as she realized that Batman wasn't talking to her. She'd come across this scenario once before, in an elevator. The person had one of those wireless cell phone devices; awkwardness ensued as she realized she'd responded to someone who was on the phone. "I need for you to try to locate Riddler, and let Commissioner Gordon know." Batman then turned back towards Xelia, "Knowing The Riddler, there will be some sort of puzzle confining the key."

"I'll do my best." Xelia said quickly, dismissing herself from the awkward fest that she'd managed to tangle herself in. She softly repeated the directions Batman had told her, as she tried to not let herself get lost.

"No, no, Caped Crusader. Your little bird-boy can't help you here. It's useless for him to try and find me; he's not nearly as clever as I." The Riddler's voice announced. Xelia guessed that he'd just blocked Batman's communication signal. This was now a one-step-forward-two-steps-back sort of situation. On one hand, she had Batman here to save her, on the other hand, he was tied up and had lost communication with the outside world. Xelia just prayed that Robin would be able to find The Riddler, and end all this craziness.

In the meantime though, she had a key to find.

HA! I totally opened up a can of awkward-turtle for poor Xelia in this chapter! I'm sure everyone can totally relate to all these things though.

Someone gives you what you think is a compliment, or is flirting with you, and it turns out you just took it wrong

Someone is on their cell phone, and you start talking back to them, happy that a nice stranger's being so nice to you. THIS. HAPPENS. ALL. THE. TIME! I hate Bluetooth head things, I hate them, I hate them! At least PRETEND to be on your phone, or hold a banana up to your face, ANYTHING to tell me, "Hey, I'm totally not talking to you."

I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!


	25. Jump Start Your Heart

Jump Start Your Heart

Xelia flinched as the light above her began to flicker, humming loudly in accompaniment; the light's sudden flickering did not do much for her nerves. Xelia's mindset reverted back to the way it was before she saw Batman. True, she was comforted by the thought that Batman was there, but he was also chained up down the hallway.

She pursed her lips as the hall dead ended into a medium sized square room. Slowly, she stepped inside, peering around cautiously. It looked to be a room one would use for surgery, complete with wicked looking devices lining the walls, a metallic table, and one of the side trays used to set tools on. Instead of surgical instruments on the table, there was a square wooden box. Xelia openly shuddered as noticed that attached to the box, was a leather headband looking device. She had seen enough B- horror movies to know that she was looking at an electroshock therapy device; it looked much, much, more menacing in person. She edged her way towards the box, spying a piece of paper next to it. Xelia picked up the paper with numb fingers and read aloud,

"The key to success may be a shock." She frowned as she set down the note, her eyes drifting back to the shock therapy machine. At first glance, it didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary, but upon opening the box, she found out otherwise. Xelia had never seen an electroshock therapy device in person, but thanks to movies, she had a general idea of what they looked like. Usually, the box would have a series of knobs or buttons, along with a voltage meter; this one, however, had no text, or meter. It only had five buttons in a row, and that was all.

"Such a crude, harsh form of therapy, believe me." xelia turned around, seeing The Riddler standing there. His arms were crossed, not even a hint of a smirk on his face, as he glared at the box. She could feel how he felt about the machine, just by the obvious tension in the room. She shifted her weight, feeling more than a little uncomfortable at the moment. Eddie closed his eyes, gathering his composure, before opening his eyes once more; his smile returning.

"Your next challenge is quite simple, really." Xelia was growing tired of his idea of 'simple'. Everything was simple to The Riddler, he didn't need to remind her every chance he got. "All you have to do," he said, stepping forwards, "is press the buttons in the correct order." Xelia grew frightened as he continued stalking forwards, leaving her trapped in front of the table. She felt her body stiffen, fear shining in her eyes, as Eddie gently turned her towards the table using her hip. Xelia's hands trembled at her sides as they just stood there for a moment, side by side, his hand on her hip. Had he always been this tall?

"You see," He spoke suddenly, his other hand gesturing to the buttons, "these lights will blink it a random pattern. Your job is to press the buttons to match the pattern; just like 'Simon Says', but" he said, putting his index finger up in front of her face, " there is a catch. You see, if you press the wrong button, you'll be given a small shock." Xelia let out a small yelp as he gave her a pinch on her hip. She'd awkwardly jumped against him, trying to escape from his hand. She placed a shaky hand over her heart, attempting to calm her nerves. Between being stuck in a virtual reality world based on an asylum, faced with the prospect of being shocked, and practically hugging The Riddler, she was surprised that she hadn't just sat down and refused to get up. Xelia turned towards the would-be-green clad man.

"Will it hurt?" She asked quietly, obviously not comfortable with the idea of involuntary pain. Eddie's smirk visibly faltered as he looked down at the frightened girl. She looked up into his masked eyes, trying her best to earn any sympathy points with her sad, doe eyes; it always worked on her mother. He turned his body towards her, his hand still upon her hip.

"It will feel," he leaned in closer to her, nearly nose to nose, sending a blush spreading across her face, "like a small pinch." He chucked and leaned back, as Xelia let out another yelp, fleeing from his grasp. The frown on her face showed that she was not nearly as amused as he was at his banter. "Good luck." He said, before disappearing, leaving Xelia, once more, blushing at their encounter. What was that all about? She stood there, trying to think of anything but what just happened, until her blush subsided.

She swallowed hard as she remembered what exactly she was doing in this room; the box behind her just sitting innocently. She took a deep breath as she placed the leather headband around her head, her hands shaking all the while; weather it was from her encounter, or the idea of the shock therapy machine, she wasn't sure.

"I can do this." She whispered to herself as the machine turned on.

It started out slow, as any game of this kind would, gradually getting faster. Xelia tried her best to remember the patterns, taking her time, and wanting to avoid getting shocked at all costs. Just the idea that she was in this situation sent an army of chills down her spine. She could think of so many more situations she'd rather be in.

As soon as Xelia's finger came into contact with the fourth button, instead of the fifth, she knew she was in trouble. She had no time to brace herself before a shock was delivered to the headband. Her hands flew up to hold her head as she managed to let out a mangled cry. It was over before Xelia knew it, but the pain still lingered. She threw her hands down on the table, supporting herself, as a million thoughts ran through her mind.

"That was one heck of a pinch." She breathed out quietly, as she continued to stand there, calming her nerves. Xelia went back to the box, completing the final sequence correctly, therefore completing the challenge. A small drawer popped out from the box, as Xelia rapidly threw off the headband, resisting the urge to somehow break the thing. A small key lay inside the little box, which she quickly snatched up, and fled from the room. Xelia just hoped that it was the right key. She retraced her steps quickly, and saw Batman still on the floor; not that he could have gone anywhere else.

"I got the key." Xelia happily announced, obviously happy with her triumph.

"Good." Batman said simply, not sharing her enthusiasm. "That should be the one that opens all the locks." Xelia knelt down in front of the caped crusader, grabbing a lock in her hand, and looking it over. She stuck the key in, taking deep breath, just praying it wasn't a bomb or anything, as she slowly turned it,

A small click echoed down the halls as the lock came open. A small smile grew on her face as she went about taking off the remaining four locks, along with unwinding the chain from around the vigilante. She made a small pile of chains and locks, then scooted behind Batman, fiddling with the straps on the straightjacket. She frowned at how uncomfortable it looked to be; being mildly claustrophobic, she couldn't imagine herself being trapped in one.

Batman shrugged the jacket off with a groan, standing to hiss full height, which never failed to impress Xelia. He rotated his arms, trying to rid himself of the stiffness.

"Thank you." He said simply, in which Xelia just nodded to him. "C'mon, we're going to get out of here." With that said the odd duo began to make their way down another hall, leading them that much closer to their final destination.

BEFORE ANYONE BEATS ME OVER THE HEAD, I'D LIKE TO STATE THAT I KNOW MY DESCRPTION OF A SHOCK THEREPY MACHINE IS OFF! I'm using a vintage (1890's) one, just because they have the LOOK of one (does that make sense?) Most people think of the scary wooden box with the head set ala: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. So, yeaaaaah, ta-da?

FINALLY we got some REAL Xelia and Eddie moments to work with, lol, it's only been… 20 something chapters. Usually, I always get nervous when adding "romance" to chapters, but I actually feel good about the Xelia n Eddie moments here. What do you guys think? Oh, yeah, also, I totally imagined Xelia with Puss in Boot's eyes as she looked up at Eddie, LOL.

So, what did you think? Questions? Comments? Concerns?

Tis has been a Public Service Announcement, brought to you in part by:

Icee… uhhh, whatever the numbers in my screen name are.

**AND IT WAS FROM THIS MOMENT ON, I BECAME ICEEWHATEVERTHENUMBERS ARE. Over the years I would panic because I would occasionally forget my password and I was like "What if I have to make a new account!?" so in case that ever happens, look for me as Iceewhatevermyscreennamewas lol.**


	26. Storming The Castle

Storming the Castle

Now that Batman was in full force, Xelia was a bit more relaxed. She'd never thought that she'd have so much faith in the vigilante; there was once a time where she'd disapproved on Gotham's, seemingly, full reliance of Batman. Even though Xelia was curious, she had no outright desire to know who The Batman really was; he was Batman, no matter who he may be underneath the mask. He'd silently listened as Xelia told him about the electroshock therapy puzzle; choosing to omit the part about The Riddler being there. She couldn't help but wonder if he was just naturally quiet, or if it was just when he was in costume.

She and Batman made their way down the hallways, turning a different direction every now and then. Xelia had been floored when Batman revealed that he had a computer screen built into one of his gloves; it was so surreal. Just as he had said earlier, a layout of the Arkham maze was displayed upon the tiny screen. Xelia wondered who, if not him, built Batman's gadgets. Whoever they may be, they were quite brilliant.

"Hold on." Batman said suddenly, thrusting an arm out to stop Xelia. She let out a quiet 'oof' as she ran into his gloved hand, raising an eyebrow at him in question. He retrieved one of his batarangs from his utility belt, and threw it down the hall. Xelia was about to question him, until three large pendulum blades came swinging down from the ceiling. The metallic blades continued to swing in their own unique rhythm, threatening to slice anything that it came into contact with in two.

"I must say," Eddie's voice announced, "you can't beat the classics. Wouldn't you agree, Batman?" Batman chose to ignore the voice and just stood, studying the swinging blades. Xelia face paled, as she watched in horror. This was just as bad, if not worse, than the closing walls from earlier. Swinging blades was something one finds in a cartoon or video game, not something you'd expect to actually have to run through.

"How fast can you run?" Xelia's eyes grew wider as she looked up at Batman, wondering if he was joking; surely, he didn't expect Xelia to run through those. He looked down at her, his face showing nothing, but the utmost seriousness. "We're going to have to run through." He explained slowly, not thrilled with his current situation; he was used to saving civilians, not working alongside them.

"I-I don't… I don't think I can make it." Xelia squeaked out. In all honesty, even if she knew that she could probably make it, she still wouldn't try it. Nobody looks good with a severed head. Batman looked her over for a moment, as if sizing her up.

"Alright, then hold on." He commanded.

"Hold on?" Xelia echoed, confused as to what she was supposed to be holding on to. "Hold on to wha-" Her sentence was cut short by a small yelp as Batman proceeded to pick her up, bridal style. She wasted no time in wrapping her arms around his neck, and burying her face in his shoulder. Xelia refused to look up, not wanting to see how close they were to certain death. She could hear, as well as feel, the blades slicing through the air around them. Batman swiftly cleared the obstacle, not fazed by the small threat.

"We're safe now." Xelia cracked one eye open at Batman's words, as if she expected him to be lying to her. True to his words, they were safely on the other side of the blades, in one piece, too. She sheepishly removed herself from his arms, looking away while an embarrassed blush crept onto her cheeks.

"Thank you." She said as she regained her composure. The Dark Knight nodded in response, wanting to continue on.

"And The Dark Knight saves the day again," Eddie's voice taunted, "how predictable."

"I will stop you, Nygma." Batman repeated, ready to end all this. Xelia didn't blame him, she was eager to get back to reality; literally. She could imagine The Riddler's eyes rolling at Batman's threat.

"Of course you will," Eddie drawled sarcastically, "you'll stop me, save the day, get the girl," Xelia couldn't help but made a face, obviously not interested in Batman 'getting the girl', "and I'll be hauled back to Arkham to rot for the rest of my life." Eddie just laughed, confident in his abilities to evade Batman. Xelia frowned, unimpressed at the massive ego bearing villain. She got the idea that he just loved to hear himself talk, as well as taunt Batman; it was a battle of wits between the two.

"Well, here's your chance, Dark Knight." Eddie said, putting great emphasis on the last two words as a new door appeared in the middle of the hallway. It was a beautiful door, gothic themed, as if it came straight from the Medieval time period. The ornate door looked more than out of place in the abandoned asylum's gritty hallway.

"The door to the castle." Xelia whispered, unable to take her eyes off the door; the door to freedom. Batman went up to the door, and inspected it, tapping it in various places. The two of them exchanged glances before Batman opened the door and stepped through, Xelia following right behind him. The door disappeared just as Xelia made it out of the Arkham hall way.

Batman took a few steps forwards, while Xelia chose to remain behind him, fearful of what she might be lurking in this room. From what she could see, they truly were inside a castle, as to if it was the right castle, she wasn't sure.

"Welcome, Dark Knight," There was that odd emphasis on 'Dark Knight' again, "to my castle." Xelia cautiously peered around Batman to see Eddie on a balcony, seated in a regal looking throne, looking quite at home; it was an oddly fitting role for The Prince of Puzzles, perhaps now he would upgrade to King of Conundrums. She looked around, noticing that they were in a circular room, empty aside from her and Batman.

"This ends here, Riddler." Batman called out, taking a step towards him, ready for a fight. Xelia knew it wouldn't be as easy to defeat him in here, as it was in the real world. Eddie just shrugged off his words and remained seated, as if expecting something to happen. Xelia awkwardly stayed by the wall, frightened at what was to come.

Dun dun DUUUN! So for the last room, imagine something similar to Arkham City's Gladiator Pit in the museum (minus a way up to the balcony, hurr hurr.)

Gosh, guys, we only have a few more chapters of this story! Oh, and for anyone curious, there WILL be some more Xeddie (Lol, yeah, Xeddie.) moments coming up in the next chapters :D

I won't lie, I'm SOOOO ready to start on the next story, lol.

As usual, tell me your thoughts!

Live Long and Prosper


	27. Reflected Light

Reflected Light

Xelia's eyebrows rose as Batman's costume began changing; the same basic design was there, bat-like ears, bat wing cape, and bat symbol upon his chest. Now Batman stood before her, covered in various plates of armor.

"The Dark Knight." Xelia whispered, now understanding why The Riddler had put such emphasis on those words. Batman's dark armor gleamed from an unknown light source, making him look even more heroic then he normally did. Xelia glanced down, almost jealous that she didn't get a neat costume change, too; then again, shoe probably would have ended up as a peasant, or such. The girl and bat watched as The Riddler stood up, leaning against the balcony railing as he looked down at them; his pose reminded her of a vulture, watching, waiting, as some innocent creature took it's last few breaths.

"I suppose I should applaud you for making it this far." Eddie said casually, as if oblivious to the fact the he was insulting them. Batman's eyes narrowed in response, just watching Eddie with keen eyes. "I just hope my entertainment isn't cut short." He added, more to himself.

"Just tell us what to do, Riddler." Batman said, annoyed with Eddie's drawn out theatrics. Xelia stood timidly behind the armored hero, imagining all sorts of terrible death traps The Riddler may have in store.

"I'm glad you asked, Batman." Eddie replied happily; too happily for a situation like this. "You see, my pointy-eared friend, you will be put through a series of challenges; a test of knighthood, if you will." He laughed at his own joke, while the duo below him just awaited a better explanation. "You, my dear," he pointed down to Xelia with his cane, who flinched a bit in response, "will be playing a different game. The level of difficulty for Batman depends on you." Xelia shrank back a bit, attempting to find a comfort that she knew she wouldn't find here. Batman just nodded, ready to do what he had to in order to beat The Riddler.

Batman took a step back, startled, as a shelf raised up from the floor. Xelia eyed it's menacing contents with fear in her eyes. An arsenal of maces, swords, lances, and other Medieval weapons she couldn't identify sat, gleaming wickedly.

"Choose your weapon, Batman." Eddie said, his voice still containing an oddly jolly tone. Batman picked up a sword, weighed it in his hand, then placed it back. He repeated the process with the other swords, before deciding on which one suited him best, Xelia watched, wondering if he had gone through some sort of training with swords before; he seemed to know what he was looking for when handling them.

She was thankful that she wouldn't have to join him in combat, as she would have been much more of a hindrance, than any help. Truth be told, she'd never been in a true fight, aside from the sibling fights she and her sister would engage in; nobody got hurt in those though, thanks to parental intervention. She had no clue how to handle weapons, guns, or even her own fists.

"Good choice, Batman." Xelia and the armored vigilante quickly turned around, The Riddler now on their level in front of them. "Now the fun starts, ladies first." He said in a low voice, as he playfully bowed at the waist, arms showing the way. Xelia followed where his arms pointed, and saw that there was now an open doorway in the wall. Xelia glanced over at Batman, her eyes pleading for help. All she got in return was a nod from Batman, motioning Xelia to go with his enemy; being alone with The Riddler again wasn't something she wanted to do again.

Inside the new room was a whole series of television screens upon the wall, displaying the previous room from all different angles. There wasn't much else in the small room, aside from a podium looking device. Xelia looked at the screen, watching Batman casually looking over the sword, anticipating what was coming next. She could feel Eddie standing close behind her, unnecessarily close. She knew that he had picked up on how his closeness made her squirm from their last encounter; and knowing him, he took great pleasure in it.

"Now my dear," he turner her around to face him, using her shoulder, and just as she suspected, was quite close to her. "Your job is to set the pace for our cowled friend." His eyes briefly flicked up to the screen, before returning back to Xelia's. Her eyes darted away, landing on her shoulder, still covered by his hand; this seemed familiar. She took a step back, blushing from his odd gesture; despite the blush, she wanted nothing more than to wake up, safe in her apartment, and to live a headband-free life from now on. Eddie's crooked smile grew, proud of his ability to ignite such strong emotions, such as fear; he was no Jonathan Crane, but having such power over people was truly euphoric.

"Let's get this over with." Xelia said quietly, wanting to just rush through all of this.

"Fine, Xelia, since you insist." Her eyes quickly shot up to meet his. He said her name; she didn't even know he knew her name, she could recall him using it before. "Your fist challenge is to answer a few questions, like a game show." He said grinning, oblivious to how his casual mention of her name effected the girl.

"O-okay." Was all she was able to say at that moment. He sauntered over to the podium, which now had buttons all over it. Small buttons, big buttons, a series of dials, and more were at his fingertips, ready to follow any and all of his sinister commands.

"We'll start out slow, just for you." He said cheekily, making Xelia's lips purse in attempt to bite back a comment. "Who asked the riddle, 'which creature walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three in the evening'?" Xelia let a small smile spread on her lips; she'd heard this one before.

"The answer is man." She answered confidently, her eyes flicking over to one of the many screens.

"Wrong." Xelia's head whipped over to see him chuckling in amusement, quickly losing all her confidence. She couldn't help but shake her head.

"Wrong? How is it wrong?" he questioned, crossing her arms, as he now shook his head.

"My dear Xelia, I expected better from you." He said her name again, but this time Xelia just ignored it, curious as to why she was wrong. "The question was 'who asked the riddle', not to answer the riddle." Her eyes widened as she realized her mistake.

"T-the- the sphinx!" She sputtered out hastily, "The answer is the sphinx."

"Too late." He said, dramatically shrugging, "Maybe, if you listened, you could learn something." Eddie said to the frowning girl before him.

"That's not fair." She muttered, making Eddie's frown drop.

"Oh, yes," He said bitterly, "you're one to talk about fair." He pressed a button, with more force than necessary, then proceeded to look at one of the screens. Xelia, too, looked at one of the screens, waiting in anticipation.

She couldn't help but mentally scoff at his words. She supposed that he was still annoyed from their first meeting, when Xelia had "cheated". How could anyone hold a grudge for that long over something so petty? It wasn't entirely unheard of; she still didn't like the kid who had tripped her in gym class during grade school.

"Batman?" Xelia's eyebrows rose as a new person appeared in the arena. No, it wasn't Batman; well, it was, but not the real Batman. The new Batman stood dressed in all white, a mirror opposite from The Dark Knight.

"What?" Batman asked, startled, his voice not restrained to the room he was in.

"Yes, Batman," Eddie announced, smiling gleefully at Batman's shocked expression, "you're opponent will be yourself. You know what they say, you're your own worst enemy." His chuckle echoed through the two rooms.

Xelia watched, helpless, as the white clad Batman charged forwards, the sword in his hand at the ready. The who knight's swords clashed together, each of their masked faces showing great determination as they swung their weapons. Despite the situation, Batman didn't seem to be struggling, rather deflecting the blows with ease.

"So, are you ready for your next question?" Eddie asked, bringing Xelia's attention back to him. "This time, pay attention." He teased.

"I will." She answered confidently. She had to get this right, for Batman; not that he really needed her help, per se, but she could at least make it a bit easier for him.

"The cerebral cortex is composed of how many layers of cells?" Xelia blinked, completely lost. She had no clue what the answer was; did he really expect her to? Was this common knowledge?

"Um," She pursed her lips, thinking of a random number. All she had left was to guess, "Six?" She questioned, giving a small shrug in accompaniment.

"A lucky guess was all that was." Eddie pouted, just as a small child would when their plans are foiled by an adult. Xelia's eyes widened a bit.

"You mean I got it right?" A small laugh of disbelief escaped her lips, making Eddie frown all the more.

"No," He corrected harshly, "You just guessed right." He crossed his arms and looked up at the screen, annoyed that he didn't have the chance to make things harder for his adversary at the moment. There wasn't much stopping him, aside from his own rules, but for now, he would follow said rules. Xelia watched him eye the screen, his expression unreadable, as she couldn't help but wonder…What went on in Edward Nygma's mind?

Dick Grayson quickly sped down the street, ignoring any and all traffic signs. He'd been working all night, trying to locate The Riddler, while Batman subjected himself to the virtual world, in attempts to keep the girl safe. Dick, or Robin rather, had already solved three riddles, which had given clues to The Riddler's whereabouts. It was always Edward Nygma's downfall, leaving clues for anyone smart enough to actually solve them; it was his way of proving himself to be better than anyone, smarter than all. All, except Batman, that was.

"I just hope Bruce is having more fun than I am." Robin muttered as the icy winds and snow blurred everything around him.

Frosty Autumn was right! This story needs more Robin, I love Robin! Lol.

Was this the best chapter? No. Do I care? NO! Pft, what do you people think I am, a writer or something?

Not much Xeddie here, folks, but I'm sure I can throw some more in there next chapter.

How does this chapter make you feel? Sad? Happy? Cookoo for Cocoa Puffs?

I'm running out of witty end phrases!


	28. A Bird in the Hand

A Bird in the Hand

"Well?" Xelia pursed her lips, trying to concentrate. She frowned as Eddie's foot began tapping impatiently.

"I'm thinking." She replied, attempting to buy herself just a few more seconds of time. She, once more, would have to resort to guessing, or just admit she didn't know the answer. "I give up, I don't know the answer." She said as she looked away; this was no way to help Batman. She heard Eddie sigh in annoyance.

"The answer is died in battle. You see, in reference to a statue, when the horse had both front feet in the air, the person seated upon the horse died in battle." He explained matter of factly. Xelia just looked over at him blankly, wondering why he expected her to know that; they didn't exactly offer statue 101 in cosmetology school.

She watched as he swirled his finger around one of the larger buttons teasingly, before pressing it down. For a few moments, nothing happened. Xelia jumped a bit as she felt an odd rumbling sensation in the ground, her eyes quickly darting to one of the screens. The room Batman was in was no longer round, but instead was long and rectangular. A long fence ran down the middle of the room, and on opposing ends, mounted on corresponding colored horses, were the two Batmans. Xelia just looked in awe at the screens, each one offering a new perspective on the

"Come along, my dear." Xelia turned to see Eddie next to her, politely offering an arm to her. She cast a final glance over at the screens before crossing her arms, and stepping towards The Riddler, signifying that she would go, but not take his arm. Eddie just rolled his eyes and led her to some, before unseen, stairs, which Xelia could only assume led to the balcony in the other room. Just as she thought, they were not overlooking the elongated room.

"I'm sure you've figured out that the next event will be jousting. I assume you know the basic concept of jousting, right, Dark Knight?" Eddie asked teasingly as he leaned upon the railing. Xelia stood behind the red headed man, arms still crossed, as she looked over the scene before her. She'd never seen jousting before, aside from in movies. It looked to be an extremely dangerous sport; two men, two horses at a full gallop, and two long wooden lances, not a very pretty ending.

"Prepare yourself, Batman. There will be three rounds, if you win, we'll move onto the next challenge. If you fail, then well,…" Eddie chuckled darkly as he let the statement hang in the air. Xelia swallowed hard at the thought of her having to go through all the same physical challenges as Batman; she'd be dead within seconds. "You will begin at the sound of the trumpet, good luck." Sarcasm dripped from his last words as he seated himself on his throne, hunched forwards, as he watched over his steepled fingers. There was no place for Xelia to sit, not that shoe would have if there was a seat provided; she was much too anxious to sit down, choosing to lean upon the railing instead.

Batman gripped his sword-turned-lance tightly as his midnight colored horse began pawing the ground in an antsy manner. On the opposite side of the room, The White Knight sat eerily still, his horse calm, unmoving, awaiting it's cue to charge forwards. The sudden blaring of trumpets caused Xelia to jump, while making the two horses rear up, and charge. The thundering sound of hooves echoed around the room as the two knights readied themselves and lances for impact.

Xelia wrung her hands a bit, the tension rising with each second. A gasp escaped her lips; her hands flew to her mouth as the two knights finally met. Splinters flew up as the white clad Batman's lance broke upon contact with his darker counterpart's chest plate, emitting a grunt as Batman fell off his black steed. Xelia's hands lowered, instead clutching her wrist to her chest, as she watched Batman roll onto his back, panting a bit. Behind her she could hear Eddie laughing lightheartedly at the situation. She looked over her shoulder at him, a disapproving look evident upon her face.

"Ugh." Batman groaned as he sat up, his horse returning to his side, ready for another round. Batman shakily got up, it was clear that he was injured. Another groan came from his as he remounted his black steed, leading it back to their starting position. The White Knight retrieved another lance, preparing himself, and positioning his horse into the proper position. Xelia's eyes followed Batman as his horse trotted back to its starting point.

Xelia's heart was pounding; she wasn't even the one jousting. Batman had two more chances to win this event, is he didn't… Well, Xelia's wasn't sure what would happen, but truly, she didn't want to find out; it couldn't be anything good.

"I can't watch this." Xelia quietly muttered as she took a step back, her back bumping against a wall. It took Xelia a few seconds to realize that the wall was chuckling; as far as she knew, walls did not chuckle. Indeed, it wasn't a wall she'd backed into, but rather Edward Nygma's broad chest. Slowly, she looked up to see Eddie grinning crookedly down at her, upside down from Xelia's point of view. It would have been a cute, cliché movie moment, if it wasn't The Riddler she was looking up at. She felt her face heat up, screaming curses mentally; she was starting to see an pattern of awkward moments lately, all of which involved her and Eddie. He stepped to her side, their eyes still locked as Xelia moved her head to follow his movements.

"If you don't watch, you'll miss all the excitement." Eddie said simply as he wrapped an arm around her waist, and led her back to the railing. Xelia just watched Batman waiting, trying to ignore the fact that she was pinned to Eddie's side again.

Xelia wasn't sure why he'd been making so much physical contact lately. She supposed it was a mix between his ego, and his ability to manipulate the world around him; he could do almost whatever he wanted. Despite his "ultimate powers", he hadn't harmed her; attempted to force her into dangerous situations, but not harmed her. She did wish that the same could be said for Batman though.

The trumpets blew again, and the horses galloped down the fence line. Xelia nervously shifted her weight, frightened at what the outcome may be. Closer, and closer the opposing colored horses took their riders into battle. She squirmed uncomfortably as the two knight's lances crashed against their opponent's chests. Both riders managed to stay on their horses, but Batman managed to gain the upper hand this round; his splintered lance serving as a trophy of his victory. She felt Eddie's grip on her tighten a bit, his eyes narrowed as Batman passed by.

"Impressive, Batman." Eddie spat bitterly. The Caped Crusader glanced upwards, pausing as he eyed the couple above him. Xelia bit her lip awkwardly as she attempted to make some space between her and Eddie, who's hand tightened; a clear sign to stay where she was. The two knights returned to the starting point, Batman grabbing a nearby lance to replace his broken one, while his horse began to dance around, before settling down at Batman's soft strokes to his neck.

"This is the final round, Will our hero triumph, or fall at my feet?" Eddie mused quietly. Xelia wasn't sure if he was talking to her, or just talking to hear himself. For the final time, the trumpets went off, and the two horses took off.

It had taken some time to navigate through all the traps, motion detectors, and not to mention, henchmen, but Robin finally managed to do so. Now, he was making his way to The Riddler himself, in hopes of finding a way to get Batman and the girl, Xelia, out of the computer world. Robin slowly crept down the hallway, following the eerie glow of computer monitors, growing closer to his opponent. He knew that it had all been too easy, and that there would be some sort of trap to disarm, or dodge. It was suspicious, but The Riddler was sitting at a desk, the door wide open, as he wore a headband that was attached to multiple computers and electronic devices. Robin retrieved a batarang from his belt, ready for a fight, as he crept through the doorway.

"Ugh!" The Boy Winder cried out as he quickly fell to the floor, an electric current flowing through his body. He should have expected this, but at least Bruce wasn't around to see his rookie mistake. As he lied on the floor, he cursed himself; he just knew that The Riddler would be alerted to his presence.

Xelia felt Eddie's hand tighten once again; what gives? She wasn't trying to get away, or anything. Her eyes swiveled upwards, annoyance within their normally hazel depths. His lips were drawn in a thin line, eyes narrowed.

"Well, well… I have a visitor." He said darkly, talking to nobody in particular. Xelia gasped as everything disappeared; literally! No longer was Batman mounted on a horse wearing armor, no longer was Xelia on a balcony, and no longer were they in a castle; they were now surrounded by nothing but whiteness. There were no colors to differentiate the floor from the walls, or the walls from the ceiling; wait, were there even any walls? "If you'll excuse me, it seems as if I have a bird in the hand." The Riddler said, a laugh lingering as he disappeared. Xelia rubbed her side a bit, as if trying to rub off the awkwardness of that situation.

"Robin has gone after The Riddler." Batman said as they stood in the virtual world limbo. There was an odd static sound that resounded in the emptiness, almost like someone had left a television on in the next room. Xelia was frightened, not only for her and Batman, but for Robin as well.

Robin watched as The Riddler's body regained life, removing the headband before standing up. The red haired man smiled down wickedly at the young hero.

"Give it up, Nygma. You will be stopped." Robin threatened from his place on the floor. He attempted to sit up, but was temporarily paralyzed from the shock earlier. The Riddler just laughed smugly, as he began tying Robin up.

"Ha, please, kid. Batman is in my world; he's at my mercy." Pride was evident in Eddie's voice, while Robin just glared at him.

"And the girl? Xelia?" Robin egged on, "What do you gain from trapping her?" His mouth twitched upwards a bit in a small smile, as he noticed he'd struck a nerve with The Riddler. The older man just crossed his arms.

"What I do is my business; I have my reasons." He said, not willing to explain himself; not that he could have justified kidnapping anyone to his young captive.

KJLIFBJFBJF! OMG THIS TOOK FOREVAH! Y U TAKE SO LONG!

Yay, Robin action! Oh, and yes, there will be some Robin and Xelia interaction, because the all mighty Icee says so!

So, jousting, yeah, I don't know much about it honestly. If you're a jousting champion and see errors in my writing, I'm sorry! Lol, it's not meant to be taken for realsies

So, tell me what you want, what you really, really want.

Ok, Imma go give my brain a rest for a bit.

DISMISSED!


	29. Countdown to Crazy

Countdown to Crazy

Crazy. Xelia was slowly being driven crazy by the odd silence; it was silent without being completely silent, as redundant as that was. There was no noise, aside from the static buzzing, which was quickly becoming the most annoying sound Xelia had ever heard. Batman stood away from her, silent, as he fiddled with his glove computer.

She would have thought the man was crazy, had she not known that there was a screen he was looking at on his glove. Now that Xelia thought about it, wasn't his computer connection being blocked by The Riddler? What was he doing on there anyways? Well, for all Xelia knew, he was playing 'Snake'. If that was the case, Xelia was envious; she had nothing to help pass the time, or distract her mind from this virtual prison.

After she chanted 'I'm bored' a hundred times mentally, she just sat down on the floor and drew her knees up, resting her chin on them. If Batman had noticed her move, he said nothing. Xelia just quietly sighed, as she tried to imagine what was happening outside her empty shell of a body.

"We need to distract him." Xelia's eyes popped open, and darted towards Batman.

"What?" She asked, not sure if he had even said anything, as he hadn't looked up from his glove. She hoped that he had said something, not wanting to have another embarrassing moment, just as she had when he was talking to Robin.

"Riddler controls this world with his mind, we need to disable him before he hurts one of us." Xelia wasn't going to ask, but she was pretty sure that when Batman said 'disable', he meant, 'sock him in the jaw'.

"Any suggestions?" She asked nervously, having no idea what to expect.

"I'll need you to distract him. I won't be able to get close enough to him without him noticing." His voice was stern, as usual, and even, showing that he had faith in Xelia; she was having the opposite problem. How would she, of all people, distract The Riddler without being obvious? He was a supposed genius, surely he would catch on to Xelia's sad excuse of a distraction; whatever it may be.

Robin watched as The Riddler grew bored of his gloating; Batman had taught him long ago that when a villain is taunting or trying to rile him up, the best thing to do is ignore them. That's what Robin was doing, ignoring Eddie's taunts, and just waiting for him to render his physical body defenseless, and enter the virtual world.

"Well, boy blunder, as much fun as this is, I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut this short. There's a bat problem that needs to be taken care of." He turned on his heel, and sauntered back over to his computer, throwing a smug glance over his shoulder, before placing the headband on his head. Robin watched The Riddler's muscles tense up as he left the physical world. Relief filled Robin's mind as he quickly cut his bonds with the batarang he'd kept hidden from The Riddler. He supposed that the older man's ego had gotten the better of him, and didn't thoroughly search him; no criminal would expect the sidekick to be able to handle themselves. As much as Robin hated that stereotype, it did come in handy for when villains underestimated him, and lowered their guards.

He pushed himself off the floor, eying the multiple computer monitors and keyboards. He spared a glance at the vacant eyed Riddler, before turning his attention on the main computer.

"Now, let's see..." he said to himself, as he began to assess the best way to go about getting Batman and Xelia out of there.

Xelia closed her eyes, taking note of how tired she felt all of a sudden; it felt like someone had tied weights to all her limbs. She could honestly say, she liked this frightening world much better when her eyes were closed; the same could be said for when she was on a roller coaster, as well. She tried to ignore the static sound, attempting to focus on her heart beat, instead. One, two, one, two...

"Oh, Batman, that was much too easy. May I suggest a new sidekick? One that's more competent?" Xelia counted faster, her heart rate picking up, as The Riddler's voice echoed in front of her. "Then again, after I'm through with you, you will need an undertaker, instead of a sidekick."

Xelia's eyes opened quickly, lifting her head and looking around, while Batman growled at his words. Panic laced her thoughts, as she still drew a blank on what she was supposed to do to help Batman. The red haired man materialized in front of them, making her heart rate speed up even more.

Oddly enough, the world around them didn't change. It remained a disorienting white, to Xelia's displeasure; still, it was a hundred times better than being in Arkham Asylum, fake or not. She flicked her eyes back towards The Riddler, at a loss of words. She looked him over for a moment, unsure how to start a conversation with the man she'd been attempting to avoid for a good amount of time. She needed to say something; anything.

"What have you done with Robin?" Anything, but that. Xelia mentally cursed her random choice of words, looking up at Eddie through her eyelashes. His smirk faltered, as his eyes narrowed down at her stated form a bit.

"He's alive," he said with a careless shrug, "for now." With a flick of his wrist, Batman was restrained by ink black ropes that manifested from nowhere. Xelia couldn't contain the gasp that rose as Batman struggled against the bonds. "It's a shame the same won't be able to be said about you, Caped Crusader."

Ignoring the dizziness that came over her from standing so suddenly, Xelia quickly made her way to The Riddler's side.

"Please, don't." Was all she could think to say. Her mind quickly became a jumbled mess as she placed a hand on his arm, hoping to gain his attention. It worked, as now he was looking down into her wide eyes. Gone was his normal smug expression, replaced with one of neutrality, as if he wasn't sure how to feel at that moment.

They gazed at one another for a few seconds, before Eddie's gaze broke away, turning back to Batman. Xelia followed his gaze, but not before noticing his smirk return. Black walls quickly flew up, encasing and isolating Batman.

"I'm afraid this is where your game ends, Batman. You have ten seconds before the bomb goes off." Eddie said simply, as if announcing that it was ten seconds to dinner instead. Xelia's eyes widened with panic as he began counting down. If she didn't do something, and quick, Batman was going to be an ugly stain on the floor. Her fingers began to twitch, as her panic level rose as Eddie announced each lower number.

"Five."

What was she going to do?

"Four."

She had to stop him, but how?

"Three."

Wait? Could she...

"Two."

Here goes nothing.

"On-"

Xelia had often heard of time slowing down, like in movies, when someone does something crazy, but she'd never thought she'd experience it herself. She'd done the one thing that even The Riddler wouldn't expect.

DUN DUN DUUUUUUNNN! I am SoOoOoOoOo terribly rusty, so you'll have to forgive my sub-par writing.

I'm not a fan of Eddie announcing that he's going to blow up Batman out of the blue, but honestly, I don't care at the moment. He can do what he wants, it's his world.

So, tell me what you think of this chapter, your thought, feelings, ect. Next capter will be fun, as we will FINALLY get back to the real world! Woo hoo!

Home again, home again.


	30. A Little Late There, Pal

A Little Late There, Pal

Xelia quickly stood on her tip toes, mind clear of all thoughts, aside from stopping the count down. She squeezed her eyes shut, as she lightly placed her hands on Eddie's collar, for balance.

Then... she kissed him. Xelia Moore's lips met Edward Nygma's. She supposed that "kissed" wasn't per se the best way to describe it; it was more their lips awkwardly met. The important part was that it did indeed stop the countdown, as well as throw off his concentration.

Eddie's eyes widened, his body growing rigid as a board as the girl's lips touched his. His normally sharp and focused mind coming to a complete halt, as his concentration quickly became derailed. This was not part of his plan.

Before he even could even blink, Xelia retreated, jumping away as if he'd burnt her. All the man could do was stare, shocked, and blushing lightly; this was certainly not part of his plan.

That second that Eddie's mind stopped, was all Batman needed, as the walls crumbled, and the restraints went limp, allowing him to rush towards the statue-esque Riddler.

"Game over, Nygma." Was all The Dark Knight said, as he landed a heavy blow to Eddie's temple, knocking him out cold. Batman adjusted his glove, looking down at the crumpled form at his feet.

Xelia awkwardly rubbed her shoulder, beet red from her toes to her hairline; she had no clue if Batman had witnessed her and Eddie's "moment". She certainly wasn't going to willingly bring it up, and was thankful that he didn't seem like he was going to either.

"Batman," Xelia jumped and quickly looked skyward, seeing a floating Robin head, "I've disabled the virtual device's electrical currents, it should new safe to remove now." Xelia looked over, and... Was that a true smile on Batman's face! She'd seen everything now.

"You're a little late there, pal." Xelia muttered bitterly to herself, upset that, if Robin had been able to do that a few seconds ago, she wouldn't have the urge to wash her mouth out with battery acid; true, it was only her and Eddie's lips that had briefly met, but she suppose she'd figure in cross contamination for good measure.

"Good work, Robin." Batman praised before turning to Xelia, signaling it was safe for them to remove the accursed headband. She did so, hearing a mechanical beep in her ear.

Her body instantly turned to jelly. She was splayed out on her back, her muscles sore all over from, what she supposed was, the electricity that had invaded her body. The headband fell from her weak hand, making a small metallic clanking sound, alerting those around her that she was among the living once more.

She was quickly greeted with a panicked Naomi slung across her in an awkward sobbing embrace. She could vaguely hear other voices behind Naomi's shrill cries.

She forced her eyes to crack open, careful to not blind herself with the light. Police officers were milling about her room, which instilled an awkward self-conscious feeling anyone would get when strangers are in their bedroom. She looked them all over, her eyes settling on a man in brown. As she opened her eyes fully, she realized it was Commissioner Gordon; she vaguely recalled how Batman has mentioned that it was Gordon who had recognized The Riddler's virtual reality technology.

"Ugh, how long was I out?" Xelia flinched as her voice sounded raspy and unpleasant. Naomi helped her sit up, her muscles screaming at her to just lie back down.

"A few hours that I know of." Naomi said, recalling the exact time she'd gotten home and found her. Xelia counted back from the time she'd been found, to the time she had gotten the mail.

"Four hours?" Xelia asked in disbelief, "I was only out for four hours. It felt like days!" She exclaimed as she rubbed her head, which thankfully wasn't throbbing painfully. That was quick to change as the authorities began drilling her with question, after question.

One even asked her if she wanted to testify in court against Mr. Nygma, to which Xelia hastily responded no; the last thing she wanted to see was his smug grin. It wasn't like there was any question to if he was guilty or not.

Xelia drank the water Naomi had graciously gotten for her, as she sat on the couch, recalling the story for the fifteenth time that evening. She claimed to have no knowledge of why The Riddler would single her out, not wanting to reveal her entire story, as she would likely be charged with who-knows-what if they knew.

"Perhaps it is because I work for Oswald Cobblepot." Xelia offered innocently, knowing good and well, that was far from the reason. As she knew they would, the quickly began questioning her about her employment. How long had she worked at The Iceberg Lounge? Did she know Mr. Cobblepot on a personal level? Had she ever seen The Riddler there? Did she have any enemies there?

Once the police left, Naomi began her own interrogation; being much more ruthless with her questions than the police had been. Xelia couldn't apologize enough for scaring her, and keeping what a had transpired between her and The Riddler a secret. Once she calmed down, Naomi forgave Xelia, telling her that she understood; not that she truly did, but she knew her friend couldn't have been able to foresee all that had happened.

Once everyone was done with their questions, Xelia sluggishly made her way back into her bedroom, eyes straining to remain open. She'd never seen her bed look so inviting before, but she forced herself to pass it up, and head to her dresser, retrieving her pajamas. She entered her bathroom, but not before giving her bed a longing glance over her shoulder. A long exhausted yawn escaped her lips as she stepped back into her bedroom, now ready to fall asleep for a week straight. Her happy sigh was cut short as she noticed it was freezing in her room; beyond freezing, almost.

The source of the cold was her gaping window. When did that get open? She nearly ran into her dresser as she tiredly stumbled over to close the window

"You're lucky to have escaped from The Riddler unscathed." That certainly woke her up. Xelia quickly attempted to backpedal away from the deep voice, only to get tripped by a pair of jeans she had carelessly tossed on the floor who-knows-when. Batman emerged from the shadow cast upon her bedroom wall, as Xelia tried kicking off jeans entangling her foot.

"Well, I wouldn't say 'unscathed', exactly; also, I did have quite a bit of help." Xelia said from her place on the floor. She heard soft foot steps behind her, and turned to find Robin smiling down, offering her a hand. She took his hand, thankful that she didn't sleep in anything embarrassing; Ok, well, not too embarrassing, aside from the retina-burning lime green pajama pants. Robin easily hoisted her up, making sure she was steady on her feet, before releasing her hand.

"You're not the one with the bruised ribs." Robin said teasingly. Xelia glanced over at Batman, recalling how he had nearly been skewered by the wooden lance; she could only imagine how bruised and sore he will be for the next few days.

"Riddler's back in Arkham, for good." Batman stated, making Xelia believe it; normally, when a rogue goes to Arkham, it's only a matter of time before they're out on the street again. The way Batman spoke, made Xelia truly believe that he will stay there for quite some time.

"Thank you, Batman." Xelia gave The Caped Crusader a tired smile, before turning to his younger partner. "And thank you, Robin. Without the help of you two, who knows what would have happened." It was true; anything could have happened if the two heroes' hadn't helped her out of that world. Her sleepy eyes widened as she remembered a small detail.

"I have some jewelry that was stolen some time ago. I was afraid to give it to the police myself; I hope it's not a bother for you to return it." She said as she began to rummage through her dresser, a light blush spreading across her cheeks as she cursed her pack-rat-esque drawers. She handed all the stolen items to Batman, who just nodded, understanding her predicament; not that he agreed with it, but he could reasonably understand that she had been scared.

"We'll make sure it gets returned." Batman said, sensing the girl's relief at freeing herself from the stolen property. "Try to stay out of trouble; there's no guarantee you will be so lucky the next time." With those final words, Batman disappeared out the window, grappling onto various rooftops.

"I think he likes you." Robin said playfully, earning a smile from Xelia.

"How can you tell?" She asked sarcastically, focusing her attention on The Boy Wonder, instead of her tiredness. The two of them stood facing each other, not quite sure what to say to the other. "Thanks again, for, you know, saving me... again." An awkward laugh laced her words as she rubbed her shoulder, feeling self-conscious.

"It's what I do." He said with a shrug, as of saving people's lives was black big deal; to him, it was just another day, Xelia supposed.

Xelia glanced shyly up at him, feeling as though she should shake his hand or something. Shaking his hand seemed so formal though, the guy just saved her life! She gave a small shrug to him, before stepping forwards, giving the young hero, not only a hug, but a light kiss on the cheek as well.

Robin couldn't help but laugh a bit at the odd situation, as he patted Xelia's back. She continued to hug him for a few more seconds before stepping back, a blush sprawled across her cheeks.

"Heh, sorry." She said embarrassed. In return, Robin beamed down at her.

"Don't apologize." He said, as he ruffled the girl's vibrant hair. Xelia just shook her head free of his hand with a crooked smile. He stepped towards Xelia's still open window, which was still allowing the freezing air in; should she die of pneumonia, she'd be sure to haunt Batman and Robin. "Hopefully, next time I see you, it won't be because you're in danger." Robin said with a raised brow. Xelia ducked her head sheepishly, only looking up after he had left. She quickly closed and locked the window, all her coordination gone, as she stumbled over to her bed. She huddled under her blankets, attempting to ignore the freezing cold, as she recalled at that had happened.

Today had topped any day she had priory considered "crazy". She got stuck in a computer generated world, kissed a virtual Riddler, and had Batman and his side kick break into her room; well, they didn't quite break in, but Xelia certainly didn't invite them inside. She was sure that if she even tried to write a book about today, it would be rejected for being too crazy and delusional.

After tossing a turning, Xelia finally fell asleep. Dreaming of bats, birds, and question marks.

THE END

Flees from angry mob of fans* I know, I know, abrupt ending, but you all knew it hand to end SOONER or LATER!

Yeah, it's kind of a random ending, but seriously, all I want to do is get on with the next, and final, story. Don't have a heart attack though, just because it's the last story, doesn't mean I'll be gone for good (you can't get rid of me that easily!) One shots will follow, I'm sure.

This chapter seemed… Hmmm… I don't even know, like, lacking? I feel like I'm lacking details on a lot of things, like the police questioning, I would have loved to expand that, but I had no idea on how to approach it! I've honestly never been questioned by police, so I wouldn't know just what questions to write and such. Author fail! Lol.

Yeah, I slapped you in the face with a Xelia/Robin moment, just because it's fun to write them interacting with one another. No, there won't be any real romance between them, just silly little moments, that amount to jack diddily squat.

Goooooood byeeeeeeee, Nurse!

**Confession: Ive been cheating on FFdotNet with Wattpad, writing different stories, and that's why it took so long for me to start uploading these again… Forgive me. But, hey, I'm back and ready for more, so yay??**


	31. Four Is The Magic Number

Four is the magic number

Four years. Four long years since Xelia had been held in the virtual world by The Riddler. For anyone else, they would complain about how dull those years were, but for Xelia Moore, those years were wonderful; she'd take a dull day over a perilous one any time. Her days had been normal, but not uneventful, as Naomi had moved in with Dustin, now her fiancé. Now, Xelia lived alone, aside from Algeron, her hamster.

She wasn't completely alone, as Leon still lived there, or in the hallway, rather. She spent a good amount of her free time with him, provided she and Naomi didn't have plans. Despite all the time she spent with Leon, he was still odd, random, and at times, a little creepy. All that aside, the two of them would harmlessly flirt, but nothing beyond that; Xelia felt as though she was too busy for a real relationship. She worked at Gaston's hair salon on week days, and then worked at The Iceberg Lounge on weekends. She'd gained a good amount of confidence at work, now out on the floor serving beverages, instead of hiding behind the bar with Brock.

She tried her best to stay away from the rogues that popped in to see "their old pal, Ozzy", but as moths to a flame, they always seemed to be drawn to her. Perhaps it was her hair, perhaps it was her slightly nervous demeanor, or perhaps it was just all a horrible stroke of luck. She'd scurry away as soon as she delivered their drinks, making herself invisible when it came time for a refill. Despite her efforts, there was always one that thrived on hunting her down, as if it was the highlight of his time at The Iceberg Lounge; The Joker. Xelia cringed whenever his high pitched laugh echoed off the beautifully embellished walls. Truly, the man, if one could call him a man, was a nightmare to work around. He would pull pranks, make snide comments, and no matter what, always act as though he were completely innocent.

The Joker and company aside, Xelia truly did enjoy both her jobs. It kept her busy physically and mentally; remaining busy mentally was crucial these days, as her mind always seemed to want to remind her of what had transpired four years ago.

Edward Nygma sat in his Arkham cell, rather pleased with himself. The Arkham doctors were so simple minded that they truly believed Eddie's lies. They were all so excited with the possibility that they could really reform one of their "super criminal" inmates, that they didn't even realize that they were all just false hopes. Eddie leaned back on his, rather uncomfortable, bed, and twiddled his thumbs. Easy as it was to out-wit the doctors, it was painstakingly time consuming. He had to resist his instincts telling him to break out; Lord knows he had many chances to do so. No, Eddie knew that it was best he stay in Arkham, for now anyways. On the bright side, it gave him plenty of time to plan.

The red headed inmate's thumbs came to a stop as his face fell into a brooding frown. True, he had plenty of time to plan, but he also had too much time to think about other things, more than he would have liked. Four years had passed, and he still replayed his final conscious moments as though it all happened just yesterday. He'd spent many long nights cursing himself for getting distracted by the girl. He brought a fingertip to his lips, tracing his bottom lip as he recalled how she had kissed him. His lips fell even deeper into a pout. It was for Batman's sake. It bothered him that she was willing to do anything for her precious hero; he was also bothered by the fact that he was bothered by that willingness.

If Eddie had been any other rogue, the girl would have been dead before her lips even touched his; heck, had he been any other rogue, she would have been dead ages ago. That also bothered him. It wasn't per se that Eddie was protective of Xelia, more possessive. He didn't want her contaminated by the other criminals; she was his.

This final chapter has all sorts of goodies hidden in it, but you won't find out about all those till later on. Just know that I'm pretty excited to get on with the story.

**Too bad I don't remember what any of those goodies are lol, oops.**

Ugh, I always hate describing the Arkham doctors as morons, but it was from Eddie's perspective, and he thinks just about everyone is below him; remind me again why anyone likes him, lol!

Yeah, expect Joker scenes, because those are so fun to write!

Now, you guys get to sit back, and relax, while I write the next story!

ALLONS-Y!


End file.
